Heaven's Neighbors

This is quite a good film. While I am not as overwhelmed by it as are a lot of viewers, I was extremely surprised at the storytelling ability of the director. I heard about the film from this site and a couple of others who talked about indieflix offerings, both good and bad. Having watched many shorts and longer length movies that the site has to offer I had always come away with the feeling that these film makers do not know how to string together multiple scenes in an orderly and coherent way as to tell a story as unambiguously as possible. That's what surprised me most about Heaven's Neighbors. It told a story, from beginning to end, without interruption or the need to back track to see if I missed something. The budget was obviously quite low. The time spent on it could not have been more than a few weeks. And yet with such constraints, the acting, locations, and overall ambiance come through loud and clear. It is refreshing to see new film makers who have a distinctive voice, and the ability to transfer that voice into a sharp little story that is truly enjoyable

This film is a tragedy! ...because it hasn't gotten the attention near it's due!! The score is PERFECT! I was incredibly impressed with how well the music fit the mood of the moment! The performances were dead on...but beware it's depth is dedicated to the artists. It's heartfelt journey allows you a window into the human qualities of every person...even those whom are placed within a society that deem them psychotic. Demons haunt each of us, whether your teacher or student, and sometimes help can come from the most unlikely avenues. More often than not, the ones that are most lost are those that appear acceptable under societies conditions. If you asked yourself looking at all the films you've watched in your lifetime, the one's that made your top ten list, what was it that helped them ride that list? I'd guess they shared one incredibly important item, you CARED about what happened to the characters in it. You watched it feeling for them, hoping for them, crying for them, or laughing with them. This was easily achieved here. The element of humor is added in the most unassuming places, creating the 'real' quality to lighten the mood. This film made me laugh, and cry, angry, and feel empathy, as a Mother, Friend. This is exactly this type of film that infuriates me the most, so well executed, yet so few eyes on it...it's the perfect example that bigger budgets don't necessarily mean better films. A frugal Lady, and I bought it to own, for weighing the cost vs entertainment made for a simplistic assessment of an easy ROI.

Amazon to enjoy!

This movie is by far the best thing indieflix.com has to offer. That's not to say that there isn't anything else worth while from indieflix, in fact Figure in the Forest (made by the same production company) is quite good. But Heaven's Neighbors outshines them all. The acting is quite good, the story is intelligent and thought provoking with out being too maudlin, and the camera work is novel without being too obtrusive. And while this might not be a glowing recommendation for a typical Hollywood production, at this level of film making these are remarkable achievements. I give the producers a big hand for knowing the limitations forced on low budget indie film makers. Too often independent film producers try for the big bang, when in reality they can't afford much more than a wet firecracker. This doesn't mean they can't find a good script they can work with at this level. Heaven's is a near perfect example of intelligent producers, who understand and work within their financial limitations, creating a small story that has both an emotional depth and a trenchant storyline.

Forget about low budget, forget about small independent films, forget about everything you think of when you hear such terms. Heaven's Neighbors is a creative, sensitive, emotionally deep film regardless of it's origins. I was invited by a friend to watch a new movie she had just bought on line. I was reluctant to go having set through some real turkeys in the past. But she was so effusive in her praise that I decided to take a chance. However, not before checking out it's rating and comments on IMDb.com, (or if it even was listed here) I was not surprised by the negative comments. Working in film I find that most critics of these small indie flicks are "friends" of the film makers who either have a bone to pick with them, suffer from jealousy, or just love to bring down others for their own pleasure. For the record, it is always easier to criticize. This is a strong trait in the majority of humans. Most of them seem to get some kind of emotional build up and feeling of self importance by trashing other's work. IMDb.com attracts more than it's fair share of these type of self aggrandizing sharks. So I naturally take take their comments with a big grain of salt. What did surprise me was the positive comments concerning Heaven's Neighbors. One doesn't usually hear such glowing praise for a small movie like this. "The movie creates it's own beautiful world." "A thoughtful story well written and directed." I was intrigued. So Friday night I sat down at my girlfriends house unsure of what I was about to see. It was everything I could have hoped for. Don't get me wrong it's not perfect. But the movie succeeds on so many levels that it' on my top ten for the foreseeable future. I did feel like they created a world, similar, but not exactly our own. And yes, I wanted to go there. The acting was good without being too over the top. The actors made me feel for, and in consequence, care for them and their plight. I tell you right now this film needs better distribution than indieflix.com. I can understand (being in the business)why this has not happened. It's not a horror film, which means most indie distributors won't touch it. That is there bread and butter, it's what feeds the machine. Heaven's defies pigeon holing it into a specific genre. So I propose a whole new category: the good indie film.

It took a while. I had to watch this movie several times before I began to notice just what held me captivated. The story is heartwarming and beautifully acted, but there was something more, something deeper, that seemed to affect my soul. What the film makers have done here is to create a world that is extremely compelling. The world inside the half way house is a bit stark and barren, but nonetheless is stunning. It makes a nice contrast to the "outside" world, which is the epitome of a perfect summer day, shot in soft focus. Several scenes stand out as some of the best cinematography I have seen in any independent film. The whole sequence in the park when the two leads, John and Jake, discuss writing and painting is so perfectly shot that you almost feel the warm breeze and the sun on you face. On top of that it is so nice to watch actors "communicating" with each other without resorting to some type of overly dramatic action that usually punctuates so many "talking" scenes. Not every scene needs a kicker ending; that's not the way life works. Kudo's to the director for keeping this film grounded in human reality. Another scene that stands out as truly magnificent is the sequence when the two leads walk at night to the doctors house. This scene makes a nice compliment to the park scene as it captures the beautifully ethereal qualities of a warm summer night. Using the dark night, which can be both inspiring and fear inducing, we dig deeper into the problems of these two young men. Their journey is both physical and metaphorical at the same time. The deeply troubled John, with the help of Jake, learns to confront the demons in the dark, and begin the process of healing. This is probably one of the most hauntingly sublime scenes you will ever see in any movie. Finally, I must mention one of the key aspects that help make this "film world" so appealing. I can tell that a great deal of thought and effort went into the musical score. Many independent films look upon the music as an afterthought. Not so with Heaven's Neighbors. You can tell that each piece was carefully crafted to embellish and help bring out the emotional heart of the scene. Put together, the whole score weaves a brilliant tapestry of the highs, lows, humor, and sadness, of everyday life. By the time the last song (the Heaven's Neighbors theme) begins to play, I'm reduced to tears. The music and vocals are as heartbreakingly beautiful as Titanic's theme. A fitting end for a remarkable movie.