Yes, Your Tide Is Cold and Dark, Sir

After watching the premiere of "Yes, your tide is cold and dark, Sir", the audience is left with an after moment of intense introspection. One's questions are never fully answered in this film, but there is a rich interweaving of the storyline reminiscent of cult classics, like Donnie Darko, where the viewer is left with an series of unsettling memories instead. Throughout this movie, there are simple moments of cinematic beauty depicting the Delaware towns of Lewes and Rehoboth that really lend this film a personality separate from other works, the audience leaves with a true sense of place. It's difficult to depict a place so that one feels connected and as though they could jump in and interact with the characters; the director engages the audience to become vested in the drama of the small-town and the results of the tragedy that envelopes it.

Throughout the movie, the elaborate depictions of human connections and their imminent disconnect is a powerful way to depict the trauma of a unnamed event. It pulls an entire community together and at the center, the main character, "Cliff" is struggling with his own emotions, intrinsically tied to the town he grew up in and the relationships within that mental space. The overlaying feelings of isolation and dramatic sensations of place are interwoven with great transitions. The pace is a little slower at times, but this is a introspective film and picks up cadence with a memorable soundtrack and great movement from scene to scene. Technically speaking, the quality editing and color work are of note, and the treatment of time creates an interesting dimension to this film.

Christopher Malinowski is an independent filmmaker with a unique vision. YES, YOUR TIDE IS COLD AND DARK, SIR--the follow-up to his "ALMS," YOU SAY--is a surreal drama with a more straightforward narrative than that previous film had. It nevertheless demands an engaged viewer who is not a stranger to multi-layered, thought-provoking cinema.

The story follows Cliff Claitonowsky (played by writer-director Malinowski), a stock broker whose estranged father, Clay, has recently disappeared with three of his guitar students. In order to come to terms with the town and the people he left behind--but not to solve the mystery of his popular father's disappearance--Cliff returns to Cape Henlopen, Delaware, and soon finds himself the reluctant center of attention. (Malinowski deserves credit for putting some of Delaware's scenic areas on film, which is something that not a lot of other noteworthy filmmakers have done. It's another element that puts his films in a class of their own.)

Cliff is passive toward the mystery surrounding his father's disappearance, and does not even appear particularly fazed by the bizarre, ominous threats of harm he receives from the town's enigmatic seedier element. Ambivalently, Cliff wanders through the mystery with better things on his mind, more interested in tying up the emotional loose ends of his own past than in determining the whereabouts of the father who neglected him. But Clay has played a greater role in Cliff's life than Cliff is perhaps willing to admit.

The sins of the father shall be visited upon the son, and Cliff becomes inevitably and increasingly entangled in the affairs of those whom his father left behind--friends, lovers, enemies, and pupils--whose yearning for a connection, for intimacy, for personal guidance mirrors Cliff's own. As we inch toward the film's conclusion, it becomes clear that a resolution (for Cliff and for the audience) might be forever out of grasp.

To the viewer who is spoon-fed on easy answers and clear-cut endings, that could spell trouble, but YES, YOUR TIDE IS COLD AND DARK, SIR offers something far richer than that. To some degree, the film is about one man's complicated relationship with the community that embraced his neglectful father as its own beloved patriarchal figure. This is an easily understood theme, especially as it regards artists who achieve professional success at the expense of familial success. (Think Julian Lennon's attitude toward his father John, to name one of countless examples.) The film inspires the same kind of reflectiveness toward one's life choices that Cliff wrestles with throughout the film. Granted, it does so with a very un-Hollywood combination of drama and dark surrealism, but the two-hour film is never less than compelling, and it's often fascinating.

Not all of my questions were answered by the film's end, but I was in no way dissatisfied. I strongly recommend it to adventurous moviegoers.

This move was fantastic! Chris really showed is creative side when writing this movie. It is wonderful that he based the movie in a small town in Lewis DE, and used the local attractions and local people. The movie held your attention and the music was captivating to the theme. I also thought the use of people with different levels of acting experience was a nice touch to the film, after watching the film, had I not known, I would have never guessed that some characters did not have any previous acting experience. The only negative I can say is the language could have been toned down a little.

GREAT JOB Chris, please never lose your creativity and drive for making movies like this one and your previous movie Alms, You Say! Always follow your dream.

"Yes, Your Tide Is Cold and Dark, Sir" is a beautifully shot, admirably performed, and intentionally interpretive film. The story of Cliff Claitonowsky unfolds after a return to his hometown amidst a search for his father, a beloved, blue collar guitar instructor and his teenage students. The backdrop of blustery Lewes, Delaware, a sleepy seaside town, is a fitting backdrop when juxtaposed with an enigmatic relationship between father and son.

The plot takes a bit of time to develop, but upon second watch, cleverly-woven eccentricities can be found in many scenes that, when observed, really tie some pieces together. It's the type of film one must be intently focused on, as it takes some doing to get a handle on the direction of the plot.

Visually, the film comes across very moody and cold in spots and charming and authentic at other times. The shots of Rehoboth and Lewes, Delaware were beautifully composed.

At its core, "Yes, Your Tide..." is a film about yearning for answers, resolving the past, and embracing life. To that end, the film can be exceptionally personal to those who choose to find meaning in its cryptic message.

Chris Malinowski delivers solidly with one of those quintessential indie films that comes along rarely, full of lovely symbolism and meaning, riding below the tide of an overlying plot. On the surface, Cliff visits his hometown of Lewes, Delaware, to visit his mother's grave several months after his father disappeared with three young guitar students and another adult. Beautifully capturing this lovely seaside town, the film explores, through Cliff, his real intentions, his inner search. The dark feel of the film is rich with unexpected and delightful moments of wonderful humor in a story of human relevance and search for happiness.

The entire cast also delivers, with especially strong performances by Gregory Tigani, Jean Brooks, and Aimee Cassada.

I have seen this film three times now, and each viewing has revealed additional meaning and richer symbolism. The unexpected and delightful moments of wonderful humor in a story of human relevance and search of purpose and happiness keep the viewer highly engaged.

It is a film of relationships, inner demons, inherited baggage, and search of self that brings the viewer to a satisfying end. But, like all excellent films, the joy is in the journey.