I had a chance to be one of the first people in the outside world to see this film and I feel quite privileged for that honor.
Freedom state isn't about a million dollar budget, flashy graphics, loud action scenes, annoying actors, or a rehashing of an old idea. It is what every movie should be: a perfectly woven, unpredictable, refreshingly touching, and very well told story. The camera, the music, the actors, the director, producer, etc. They all facilitate the story and never overshadow, control, or distract from its direction.
Freedom State creates characters that you can relate to, that move you, that you could see yourself being if you had taken one wrong turn and then takes you along their path. A path that is almost so aimless you sometimes feel lost in the world of their short bus. However, not so lost that the movie doesn't tie all of the strings back together and make you realize that two paths diverged can lead back to the same wood. It leaves you with an emotional feeling of rediscovery and the truth/impression that actual "craziness" most often arises from the social machine and not the outcasts that it produces.
This is a movie I will own on DVD and watch again by myself in order to extract its deeply personal, yet seemingly universal, message of hope for all of those who often feel as if they have strayed too far from society's expectations.
