Rainbow Time

This film manages to explore some difficult issues without being depressing or condescending.

The main character, Shonzi is developmentally delayed and he uses the sympathy this often evokes in others, as a weapon to manipulate them.

This is a challenging film to make fun, enjoyable and positive but Linas Phillips, the director and writer (who plays Shonzi), succeeds in doing so.

The film provides good insight into the challenges faced by Shonzi and those around him, but it avoids being tub thumping and over-emotional. The characters and the audience are treated as adults; sexuality and disability are explored with confidence and realism.

I tend to see films that explore "issues", as educational rather than entertaining. But this is different. It is entertaining but I also felt I had effortlessly learned something new by the end of the film.

I usually not big fan of "romantic comedies" and "slice of life" indie films. I'm also critical about films that use mentally challenged characters to gain sympathy from they audience. But this one did not do that, and it was great!

It's not perfect, but it is really awesome!

Simple minded drivel. Every character talked and acted on ways nobody ever would, although the acting itself was decent. The new age girlfriend was so dense and naive, and tolerated way too much from these worthless brothers. The so-called disability was not believable in the least. He's just an annoying idiot. No disability I've ever seen manifests itself like that and I've been working in this field for a long time. And the other brother is just a user. Not one likable character in the entire movie except the neighbor girl. I'm not even going to delve into the perversion it's not worth it. No cast could have made this script work. It was just vacuously stupid. Empty headed people everywhere.

Rainbow Time begins as a pretty lighthearted comedy with some dramatic elements. The second half relies more on drama with some minor comedic elements. The first half is more successful, but it still works overall. The characters and plot are off-beat and keep the viewer interested enough to want to see how the characters develop throughout.

The film relies heavily on the acting ability of the three leads. Luckily, all three perform excellently and play their roles almost flawlessly. Rainbow Time does not try to be something it's not - it tells a pretty simple story about some simple people with common problems. If you like any of the lead actors, give it a shot.

Seeing the 'Duplass Brothers Productions' flash on the screen before the film stirs up more excitement for me than when I see A24. Film... TV... They have their hands in the weirdest, most obscure productions that leave a massive imprint on the world of Celluloid. Love em or Hate em, they always make me feel something and they always come correct with the originality. Great work here!

Linas Phillips directs, produces, writes... Turning one of those 'uncomfortable truths' in life, that we admittedly love so much, into something organic and introspective. This film somehow escaped my radar, as I was extremely surprised to see the 2016 Release Date on a film that popped up on ISIA in 2018. This definitely feels like a must see!!! Hopefully 'Rainbow Time' finds it's rightful audience sooner than later!