Hard Truths

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film be so engaging, but also be so good at portraying the highs and lows of normal people’s lives. It’s one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in a film. It isn’t overly dramatised. It doesn’t cut out the normal or ‘boring’ parts of living. It just lets you sit in the varying struggles of people’s lives. It’s not a demographic I fit into, or a culture that I relate to (not that it’s really relevant, as I’ll get onto), but the film is radiating with authenticity that I fully connect to it. I actually think the different stories it deals with, the situations the characters are in, whether it’s to do with occupation, family relationships, health, or something else, it just feels so relatable and genuine, that you can’t help but feel the full range of emotions that the film deals with. It’s beaming with culture and personality, but it transcends race, gender, culture, religion, or any personal identity. When it boils down to it, this is a film about normal people dealing with the inevitabilities of life. The struggles that everyone will have to go through in some capacity and the varying ways that people will deal with it. The way it looks at grief especially is just brilliant - one of the best films I have ever seen at portraying the complexities of losing a parent, and how the grief can affect everything around you. That scene where Pansy breaks down had me on the edge of tears. Genuinely, if it would have lasted any longer, I would have cried. And for the record, I have never cried at a film before and so just for how that scene made me feel, this film got an extra 0.5. I actually can’t believe how deeply emotional that scene had me - I could literally feel the emotional weight in my own heart.  I actually don’t understand why this is so captivating though. The plot isn’t majorly complicated. There isn’t endless twists and turns. I really don’t know. But in my opinion, it’s a film you just need to experience. You may not find it endlessly entertaining (for the record, I definitely did), but just let yourself sit in the emotions of this incredible film, and you won’t regret it. One of the best films I have ever seen. Recommended.