Projeto Flórida

Boy, did I hear some great things about this from film festivals and from critics I follow on social media. Trailer didn't blow me away but I knew there had to be something special about this film. I haven't seen Sean Baker's previous effort, Tangerine, so I didn't really have a barometer for what to expect. I can safely say the film works so well. It's incredibly well acted, and utilizes a charming and emotional script to convey an experience you won't soon forget.

The film follows a young girl named Moonee (played by a really good young Brooklynn Kimberly Prince) and her mom who live in an extended stay motel managed by Bobby (Willem Dafoe). Halley, Moone's mother, has trouble making ends meet and does whatever she can to raise her daughter but her brash personality and lifestyle makes life difficult during their stay at the motel. Bobby tries his best to watch over them but realizes how tough it is keeping them as guests.

Its hard to say much more without giving away key plot points. I have to say this film is a joyous good time. The kid performers are mostly yelling loudly and running around on adventures. you know, being typical hyper kids. Its done so well though. I think Baker may have legitimately had the child actors improvise their lines because everything felt extremely natural. Newcomer Bria Vinaite, wow. She is livewire. Love or hate her character, she is loudly unapologetic and rebellious and just wonderfully portrayed. Defoe is also typically great. Bobby is such an identifiable character.

Baker uses his lenses to study a part of under-represented America. We don't get a lot of films about struggling families who find it hard to get by, definitely not the typical "Hollywood" character story. The film is definitely going to hit a lot of viewers hard at the end. Its a rather beautiful ending that reflects the innocence of the mischievous but ultimately innocent children. This could really be an Oscar contender.

8/10

My wife and I watched this movie at home on DVD from our public library. The writer/director mentions in the DVD extras that he is a long time fan of the old "Little Rascal" films and making this movie his focus similarly was on the kids and what they do during the summer without supervision.

Back in 1992 writer/director Robert Rodriguez as writer/director/editor gave us "El Mariachi" made for a mere $7000. This little movie has similarities, in fact some scenes were filmed using a phone, the writer/director rewrote some of the story during filming, and was the editor. Overall a fine effort, made to bring to light the plight of the near homeless, those families living in cheap motels in the Florida area near Disney World.

To me the real star is first time actress Bria Vinaite as Halley, a single mom with a daughter maybe 6 or 7. The writer says she would have had her daughter when she was perhaps only 15 and has had to figure out how to keep a roof over their heads. As probably most would do in a strictly survival mode her actions stray way off the line of good morality and her mouth is filthy as they come. She finds a variety of ways, some legal, to make money each week.

In a good role for him Willem Dafoe is Bobby, the manager of the motel. He clearly gets frustrated with the antics of the kids, and always having to remind Halley that the week's rent is due, but he also has a soft heart for all of them. He is perhaps the only father figure Halley ever had.

There is also a short scene with little kids playing and an older man approaches them. Bobby is on a tall ladder painting, quickly jumps into action and prevents what might have become an ugly situation and muscles the man away.

Much of the movie is hard to watch because we understand that, even though this is fiction, it mirrors reality very closely. This movie was made about Florida, you could probably make a similar one in every large community, including the one where I live in Texas.

This is not a happy, fun film. At all. But they don't all have to be, nor should they all be fluff.

I saw it on the last day it was on Netflix and only watched it because it was the last day. Am I glad I did? I am still trying to figure that out.

It is as uncomfortable as Disney is saccharine. Oops, I mean happy.

The unique buildings on the streets, the colors all around are shown to their Sunday best in the bleak lives of the people who live near them.

Willem Defoe is, as ever, brilliant and restrained and brings humanity to the group. I wish I could say the kids bring hope, but they do not. And the helicopter, to me, brought the humor and "in your face" moments.

Would I have paid to see this film and not been mad about it? Probably - a few days after viewing it. Would I recommend it to friends who appreciate films (versus movies)? Absolutely, but with reservations.

I am not sure if I will ever know what I truly think about this film. And, frankly, that's a good thing. It made me think. It made me uncomfortable. It made me question things.

It made me very uncomfortable in my own skin. So, yes. That's a good film.

Many years ago I remember being in a shop where a rough-as-stones mother was there with a 5 or 6 year old girl who was so well spoken and friendly that I barely believed they were together. A bit snobbish of me, but at the time I felt for the child as I assumed her path was more or less chosen for her. Life is not as simple as that, and it wasn't fair of me to judge, but it is a memory recovered while watching this film. The Florida Project takes us into a motel mostly housed by those down on their luck (to say the least). We go there via the perspective of the child Moonee, who mostly runs around with other children while her mother Halley smokes and lies around. Money comes from stripping when she can, but mostly from selling knock-offs to tourists. For Moonee though, it is a world of wonder and color.

It is important to say that it does this in a way that is very slow, and does spend a bit too long lingering in some scenes or ideas. This makes the film a bit harder for those (like myself) expecting something with more purpose, but if you know this then it is easy to go with it and be engaged by what it does. The film enjoys the nostalgic playing and fun of the children, and doesn't push the sadness of the situation. Likewise the extent of the poverty and desperation are not directly shown or labored other than the way a child would observe them. The personal drama plays out though, and in the end it is a depressing film for how it does come over as very real - and ultimately how Moonee probably doesn't have that bright future that she deserves; not to say people cannot escape poverty - but there is almost nothing here to help them do it.

The performances are strong through, which is important for a film which spends so long letting the characters just be on camera. Prince is as good as everyone says she is; utterly convincing and challenging. Dafoe is the only real 'name' in the film, but he doesn't let that be what he is there for, and he is an engaging presence. Vinaite is very good as Halley - had the performance come from an established actress then this would have been Oscar material; I wonder if her tattoos etc made people assume that she was essentially just doing what came naturally? Regardless she is nuanced, unsympathetic, but yet human - the film doesn't pander or patronize her.

The Florida Project is not an easy sell as a film, and it is perhaps a bit too slow for its own good, but it has a heart and honesty that make it work. The performances are natural and convincing throughout, and the film allows the child's wonder and fun come through, while never denying the depressing and oppressive reality of it all.

I really liked this film, as unorthodox as it was. The first hour was uproariously funny, before becoming a deep, and poignant study of the millions of lives of Americans who are living on the fringes of society, just barely surviving day to day. There is a shocking lack of cinema devoted to this underclass, and seeing this small film, was refreshing, enlightening, and surprising, and a refreshing contrast to the plutocracy we see all around us today.

The performances were outstanding. I am not sure where Bria Vinaite has been hiding, but she was astonishing as the mom, Hailey. Her daughter and all of the other kids were great, and their interactions, behavior, dialogue and play was hysterical. Then it kind of morphed into a more serious story, that was credible, and powerful. Willem Dafoe was his usual masterful self, and played a very real, very likable guy. A tough guy with a heart of gold.

I highly recommend this film. Not for everyone. Several people walked out during the film. My presumption was that they either thought the film focused too much time on the kids, or they were living in a state of denial, like so many Americans these days, pretending that this huge underclass does not exist. Regardless, it felt like a story that needed to be told. And it was told very well. Kudos to the filmmakers.