Bureaucracy threatens a family when they cannot get their granddaughter out of hospital due to lack of proof of being her guardian, even though they raised her like their own when their own daughter (her mother) left her and moved away.
The one-liner sounds dry and messy, but actually the film has much more energy and emotion than I expected. Mostly it is driven by the energy and dramatics of the family, with the raised voices, gestures, and fast pace of talking. They are not all nice characters but they engage and the film gives them all space to be more than one thing. I liked the way that I managed to dislike and feel for several of the characters, mostly at the same time. The film is about 20 minutes, which in itself is not an issue but I did think it spent a bit too much on the fast-talking family drama, and this meant there was less space for the rawer, more emotional content.
That said, the performances make the most of the time for whatever the film is doing. I read they were not professional actors, but I find it hard to believe because they are all very strong throughout. Whether the frustrated animated yelling, or the soul-hurting pain of choices, it all felt real and engaging. In the end I did wish it had more of the pain and less of the exaggerated fighting, but it worked nonetheless, and a film worth seeing and not letting the subtitles or subject put you off.
