Sheltered Life

I was in town for VIFF and decided to attend "Sheltered Life" on a whim. I knew virtually nothing about the film going into it and now, I feel as if I've discovered a gem. The movie follows Candice and her daughter, Josephine as they find themselves in a women's shelter after a domestic dispute with the husband and father, David Nash. During their time at the shelter, both of them connect with various individuals. Josephine, in particular, forms an odd, yet charming friendship with two teenagers at the shelter, Kendra and Cal. Over the course of their four day stay, Candice and Josephine grow closer to each other in some areas, yet farther apart in others. As their time winds down, they're forced to make a drastic change. All and all, this is a lovely slice of life drama with strong social issues lingering in the background. It tackles many topics with immense realism and the film never tries to present you with an obvious message, or easy answers, for that matter. All of the characters flow with authenticity, even the minor ones.

Valerie Buhagiar is great as Candice, appearing steady on the surface, but with a deep sense of hurt and confusion hidden below. Natasha Greenblatt is extremely effective as Josephine, carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Jaren Brandt Bartlett also leaves a poignant impression as Cal, hitting multiple notes...sometimes even within the same expression. Honestly, every single cast member has a moment to shine. Also, the cinematography is gorgeous, especially for a film of this budget. Not to mention, the music by Dan Mangan is wonderfully moving and tragic.

The ending was very abrupt and surprising, but in the end, I felt as if it was inevitable. It didn't sit right with a fellow peer of mine, but after it had time to soak in, he agreed with me completely. Overall, it was quite a find and hopefully this film scores a great distribution deal.

I saw "Sheltered Life" at the Phoenix Film Festival, it was, by a large margin, my film of the festival.

At the Q&A at the end we heard it was the director's first feature (his Short films have won awards worldwide), I was amazed/jealous. When someone sets the bar so high for a first feature, well you just wonder "how can I compete, maybe I should give up now'.

The soundtrack is totally on the money, even better it is memorable. I can't remember the music of any other film I saw at the festival and that is not saying that they were bad.

The script is sharp, funny, poignant and complete (first feature film produced for the scriptwriter also).

Ellen Page was approached for the lead role but I don't believe she could have bettered the girl in the film. In so many low budget features there are actors who just don't rate. In 'Sheltered Life' there are no poor performances. The acting is always good and often stand out brilliant. Best supporting actress is the shelter manager.

Finally the photography is superb, I am a stills photographer myself and some of the shots are just plain beautiful. I presume Carl gave the DP some latitude to give his best because whoever the guy is worked their socks off.

Carl did the edit as well. This isn't a Canadian or American film it's European (French I think but I can't say firmly why).

There are many moments when we get short or long periods with no dialogue just wonderful vignettes of people or their surroundings (with that beautiful soundtrack). What can I say I loved it.

I got a screener copy from the director and told my daughter (21) so much about the film that she gave in and watched it. I asked her what she thought, she won't say. She was moved beyond words.

In years to come people will look back and say how did we miss this? If it screens anywhere near you, go.

There are scenes /characters in Sheltered Life which have stuck permanently in my head.

Sorry to sound so pessimistic - but I have a very hard time watching many low budget films, and if I know a film is Canadian I suspect that 90% of the time I'm not going to be able to give it more than a few minutes before I give up on it ....

But Wow - I couldn't stop watching this movie. It was artistically and creatively filmed, and took great advantage of the strange beauty of it's stars, and I was hypnotized by the creativity of the cinematography.

I can't recommend this movie enough.

I was constantly transfixed by images that you just don't see in the standard mainstream films - and I just sat there in awe of the "art" of the whole thing.

And I must say the stars had a subdued and non-standard (to Hollywood) beauty about them. Valerie has always had that slightly strange beauty to her, and although she is definitely older, she still has a bit that something, and the young guy was very "pretty" - and the "non-annorexic" girl with the curly hair had this really strange attractiveness to her. She is just a hair away from being ugly - and yet quite pretty in her own slightly masculine Islamic sort of way.

And what an ending ! ....

I saw this the other day at the Vancouver Film Festival, and was very impressed by the film. Director Carl Laudan's first feature film is a story of a Mother & Daughter and their lives and relationship when they have relocated to a womens shelter. The film beautifully shot, and the acting was first rate. It was well on route to being one of my favorite films of the year, when the final 10 minutes or so left me cold. For such a wonderful film, the ending just seemed to be wrong, and I felt that the film deserve so much more. I still would recommend it to anyone that loves a good, thoughtful film. What could have been a 10 ends up an 8 for an unrealistic ending.