My Louisiana Sky

This is a jewel of a movie. Definitely a story I haven't seen before. And it's a beautiful place and time. Every character is perfectly interesting and perfectly portrayed. Not a moment of this movie is wasted. And it's also great for everyone. A movie you can share with the whole family. I love this movie. As I got ready to post I saw that the Director was Adam Arkin. I've always loved the work of he and his father. They have a fantastic authenticity.

This is a true family film and an exceptional one at that. Tiger Ann is a 12-year-old living in a rural town in Louisiana, with her parents and grandmother. It is the summer of 1957 and the family is celebrating her grandmother's birthday. The viewer soon notices there is something odd about Tiger Ann's mother. She acts like a child! Her father, too, obviously has some developmental problems, but holds a job at a nursery, and is considered the best employee there by his boss.

When Tiger Ann's aunt comes from Baton Rouge for the birthday, she notices the conflict between her and her grandmother. She also is becoming more aware of how other kids view her mother, and how the family has less money than others. Her glamourous aunt, on the other hand, is a working girl, with a beautiful car and apartment. Tiger Ann wants to be like her, instead of the hard working farm girl she is in the summer, where she has to take care of chicks, as well as pick fruits and vegetables.

Tragedy strikes that summer in two big ways, and Tiger Ann might get what she wishes for, but is it truly what she wants? While all the actors in this film are great, I thought Chris Owens was the most exceptional one of them all. As Tiger Ann's father Lonnie, he created a memorable character impossible to ever forget. This is the type of film you fear is going to be either too depressing or too sugary, but it turns out to be neither, and you are so glad you saw it.

I loved Adam Arkin in 'Chicago Hope'! So I looked forward to watching 'My Louisiana Sky' just to see how he had directed it. And I must say I'm quite impressed! I find something intrinsically noble in people who make films like these - small budget, relationship-driven... films that successfully capture an age and an experience and leave an impression on the viewer... 'My Louisiana Sky' is a beautiful languorous film that explores a phase in a young girl's life as she deals with the various predicaments in her life - her mentally challenged parents, her friend Jesse Wade whose crush on her causes her much anxiety, her accomplished aunt whose life in the city she wishes to lead etc... Kelsey Keel is brilliant in the part! And the rest of supporting cast - Shirley Knight, Juliette Lewis, Amelia Campbell, Chris Owens etc are also really good!

I cannot believe that this film was actually shot in Toronto! The locations were so beautiful and seemed so rural and idyllic! I must say that that city has an amazing chameleon-like quality to appear like other cities and towns! Someone here has commented that this film seems like 'Anne of Green Gables'. I've been a big fan of the 'Anne' books and the films made by Kevin Sullivan. 'My Louisiana Sky' didn't really seem to me to be Anne-like, but perhaps likenesses could be traced... I'm reminded of 'Paradise' that starred a very young and adorable Elijah Wood and Thora Birch! 'Paradise' is not a period film and neither is it a coming-of-age film like 'My Louisiana Sky', but it's got the same rural idyllic atmosphere and is also set in the South, and the camaraderie between Wood's and Birch's characters in 'Paradise' is quite like Tiger Anne's and Jesse Wade's here!

Just hope more films like 'Paradise' and 'My Louisiana Sky' get made! Kudos to Adam Arkin! :)

I might be completely biased because Kelsey Keel is a local girl from my neck of the woods who went to high school across the street from me, but she is superb in this film. After winning two Awards for her work in this film (a Daytime Emmy and a Young Artist Award), I hope she continues to find work in films and ages with grace and maturity on-screen. Juliette Lewis and Shirley Knight provide able support, but the fact that the entire film is shown from Tiger Ann's point of view only provides Keel with some magnificent characterization and plenty of screentime that should have earned her star billing. Magnificent coming of age story that should be seen by audience members of all ages that suffers from being shown on ShowTime and seeing a less than adequate home video release.

This movie is very helpful in understanding people, why we all are the way we are. Each character is extremely well acted and leaves the viewer understanding them, and feeling deeply for them. As the film progresses, we are moving with them in their situations,and begin to understand why we all do things that seem to be just not the way we thought they would go. The scenery and setting all tell the story beautifully, and the ending is brought together perfectly to leave us with a feeling of everything can be whatever we can make it to be. Sadness, guilt, relief, all the feelings we all experience every day. All brought together wonderfully in this great film. This is one of those films that makes us remember what it was like to be a child, what we became as adults, as we learned to judge ourselves and others, how it is to see loved ones hurt and to feel loss. I was greatly surprised by everyone in this film, because I initially watched it because I admire Juliette Lewis, and she is tremendous in this film, but everyone else matches her. This is one of those films that stays with you, and makes you want to watch it over and over.