The Acceptance

Let's be honest: "The Acceptance" is probably the anti-pop-corn movie. Don't expect action scenes or any kind of fireworks. But if you're looking for real emotions, true conflicts and excellent performances, this is your film. Yogesh Khubchandani surprises us with an extraordinary debut as a filmmaker. But, without a doubt, his best achievement has been discovering for us this great actress, Alicia Lobo, probably the new Monica Belucci of the century: wild, tender, sweet, strong, beautiful, but above all.. extremely talented. It's not easy at all to do what she achieves: she doesn't have more than a hundred lines in the whole film (even though she plays Eleanor, the protagonist), but her look, her silences, all of her expressions are full of such a big amount of life and convey so much truth.. Eleanor will probably be Alicia Lobo's breakthrough role. Alicia, thank you for being an inspiration.. where were you all this time?

Beautiful, otherworldly, mysterious; through deliberate pacing and wonderfully-composed shots, the story of a young woman revisiting key moments in her past, in order to come to terms with a disturbing event in her present. The story is told through careful composition of image and sound in addition to the dialog. Visual poetry...you are taken on the journey along with the young woman...and want the best for her. And like the best poetry, you will bring your own meaning to her story. Along with the visual styling, the director shows his sensitivity with the actors, drawing out inspired performances from the entire cast. A wonderful debut from a new film-maker

The Acceptance is an amazing film. The visuals and incredible and the settings superb. While not normally my kind of film (as normally I prefer faster films), this movie has a heart touching story about accepting life as it comes, and making the best of it. The heroin of the story goes though a number of trials, and while not always coming out on top; always learns a valuable lesson from each encounter. It is a movie that should be seen for its visual impact and its ability to uplift the viewer. The Acceptance is the type of movie that no two people will come away from with the same feelings, but every viewer will spend days thinking about and discussing it with those that have also viewed it.

Khubi is a consummate artist, and this film has the spare elegance of a handcrafted masterpiece. Gorgeous location shots (in New Jersey, no less!), meticulously layered sound and powerful, understated performances give The Acceptance the austere beauty of a piece of Shaker furniture, a reminder of what art can look like when people take the time to find the beauty in simple materials. It's a "difficult" film in the sense that it doesn't simply tee up emotional payoffs for the audience to knock over. Like the heroine, we are set upon the hard road of broken relationships, loss, and betrayal, and the only guide is what we learn by looking inward as we go along. Much as with Khubi's cinematic heroes like Buñuel, the story here is lyrical and meditative, and more than a little eerie, but never didactic or informative. At the same time it is rich with real, actual life and beauty in a way few films are. You've never looked at Jersey quite this way before! By way of disclosure, Khubi has been a friend of mine for many years. No special insight, but I know it was a grueling project. I'm glad the final result is so beautifully realized.

The Acceptance is a dream-like experience, augmented by stunning visuals and careful meditative pacing. The film follows the internal journey of a heroine stuck in a world of greed, but also a world full of hidden surprises and sweet memories. The warped yet perceptible sense of time encourages the viewer to look at reality from a different perspective, where past, present, and future mix together in a wonderful story of hidden bravery and survival. Whether you want to escape reality for two hours or just care to see some good camera work, the Acceptance is a diamond in the rough waiting to be discovered. This is a great debut for the director Yogesh Khubchandani, and a surprisingly strong achievement for the limited budget.