BLUE HERON Review

Sasha (Eylul Guven, Amy Zimmer) is the child of Hungarian immigrants being raised on Vancouver Island. Blue Heron cuts back and forth between her youth in Canada, and her young adult years. It truly is a personal, restless look at trying to interpret your own childhood. This film very literally tackles the dissonance between your experience growing up, and how you then look back on it as a young adult. Although Sasha is the protagonist, Blue Heron is incredibly centered around the character of Jeremy (Edik Beddoes), Sasha's older half-brother. He is consistently showing dangerous behavior and rebelling against everyone and everything, whenever he gets the chance to do so.

Blue Heron is very gentle in its presentation. Everything here can be described as subtle. I thought the cinematography was noticeably gorgeous, as was the color grade. The whole film had this hue over top of it that really took you back to the 90's, it was really beautiful. The Vancouver backdrop didn't hurt either. All that being said, this film's entire point is to slowly punch you in the gut, as the screenplay slowly begins to tangle you in it's web. This is a masterclass in finding the line between mundanity and drama.

I was really impacted by all of the central performances. Edik Beddoes is incredibly moving as a misunderstood kid, filled with dread. But he isn't just playing Jeremy, he is playing a memory. In the same way that Eylul Guven plays a young Sasha, and Amy Zimmer plays an adult Sasha. We get to see Sasha and Jeremy as kids. The way they interact with each other, and everyone else around them. Then we see adult Sasha reconcile with the memory of Jeremy, and continue to explore the parts she never saw. This complicated relationship obviously hinges on these performances and they all deliver.

I was particularly moved by the performances of the two parents. Ádám Tompa grounds the film with his calm presence and Iringó Réti is the emotional heartbeat. The parents are in an extreme position, where they are asked to make an unimaginable position. The film really highlights how emotionally impactful this is, while also setting a tone that they aren't alone. This isn't necessarily rare, as much as it is rarely discussed. The parental elements of Blue Heron are when this film, which feels so personal, begins to feel universal.

The second half of this is fascinating, and even dips into the surreal to drive home its messaging. It achieves this sort of pseudo-documentary style that feels very introspective to what the filmmaker is doing in the first place. At this point, all of the previous subtlety is thrown out the window, and the film becomes very direct in its messaging. There will definitely be slow-cinema purists who are thrown for a loop during the third act, but I found it to be very innovative.

This is the genius of Sophy Romvari on full display. Where the personal story, that she was born to tell, meets the universal themes and subject matter that affects us all so deeply. There is little doubt in my mind that this film will draw comparisons to Aftersun. The comparisons are warranted and quite frankly a massive compliment.

However, make no mistake, this is a completely singular piece of filmmaking that is absolutely going to be one of the finest of the year.

🍿 SCORE = 94 / 100