catheraneskillen

Dzifa Mallet, the writer, director and star, did an amazing job. I thought this was going to be a totally different film from the beginning scenes. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a story of ego, suffering, hope, redemption, love and forgiveness. The cast was excellent with standouts in the roles of Darnell (Dzifa Mallet)...Estelle/Mom (Missy Lee)...Imani (Brittany Seals). The story was a bit formulaic, but there were some surprises along the way and it was directed and shot in such a way that was very interesting to watch as well as the use of some great locations. The multi-talented Mr. Mallet has a great future.

This indie film has a lot going for it with complex relationships complicated by a mysterious painting thrown in the mix. Writer/Director Cinder Chou did a great job constructing an interesting story without telegraphing where it was headed. The locations were well-chosen. The casting was outstanding. Every character was engaging and believable and real. Just a great all-around cast. Though the action of the last fight scene did leave me questioning. This was a very ambitious and what appears to be a heartfelt project and I applaud the Ms. Chou and the cast and crew that came together to create this movie.

As WWII is winding down, the film's story relates the role Canadian soldiers played trying to liberate a Dutch town from the Nazis. Financing Indie film is difficult at best without big studio involvement. What they've accomplished with the vintage look...period costumes, the sets, the vehicles and equipment (guns, radio transmission, etc.) is truly heroic. A plus was the use of actual German and Dutch languages with sub-titles for the non-English speakers which is more authentic than everyone speaking English. I'd be interested in finding out more about the film, how and where it was made and the casting of the multi-linguistic actors.