Living Life

I am a huge drama freak, and I expect a lot from the films I see. That's why when I went to see a film made by someone from Seattle, I was a bit worried. Let's face it, we are not known here for our artists or our films. I don't think a hit was ever fully produced here without the generous help from LA, and there aren't even many of those. This aside I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty and tight structure of Living Life. Its story line was poignant, it characters well developed and its emotion strong and stirring. I was moved to tears on more than one occasion. The technical side of the movie was first rate. The shots were long and beautiful, the music fantastic, and the location/set design first rate. When I think about the fact that a 17 year old wrote the film and the SOLD IT, I am floored. What an amazing phenomenon.

Highly recommended!

My applauds to a young and very talented director. "Living Life" will touch your heart and bring tears to your eyes but also leave you with a warm feeling at the end. It's brilliant cinematography, moving score and well designed locations only add to the story and help create the right mood. In dealing with such a serious subject as cancer it's possible to create a feeling of depression and hopelessness but such is not the case here. As we follow seventeen year-old Jason through his dealing with this disease we feel his pain and confusion and relate to the decisions he makes, both good and bad in relating to his family and friends. We see how he uses the short time he feels he has left to make a difference in the lives of those around him. Like any work of art there is always room to improve on it, but Mr. Harris had done an outstanding job in the handling of this subject and has created a very sensitive and heartwarming film which will leave you wanting to make a difference in the world with your own life.

I had the privilege of seeing the first version of this film at Ballard High School last year and now the final version at the Metro this week. The film has been re-edited, shortened (to 88 minutes), and completely re-scored and is a very enjoyable experience. Keep an eye out for the name, "Jesse Harris". He will be up there with the great directors of our time in the not too distant future.

This film will make you laugh, make you cry and make you leave the theater feeling great. It is a perfect family film. I have two young kids, 8 and 12 and they both loved it. My youngest now says its her favorite film. Before Living Life it was Princess Diaries, which was a good movie, so that should say something. I saw the film in theaters and was blown away when I heard it was directed by a 17 year old kid, amazing! He is going to be the next Spielberg or something. My kids have already been asking when its coming out on DVD. I emailed the distributor and they actually replied and said sometime in Feb, or March of 2006. If you have kids, or if you just like good, heart felt, make you feel good movies, then see Living Life whenever you can.

The entire film is eye candy, especially considering this is a low budget film, with camera angles, Seattle scenes, lighting and close ups that make the film a pleasure to watch. The dialog is simplistic, but on par with most films these days.

What really stands out is the tenderness and innocence of the story. The shots of children experiencing the wonder of an old time magic show are fantastic. And I had a good cry - there are several chances to shed some tears, but you leave feeling good about life and not depressed.

This film is PG or G, depending on whether you consider the subject of death to be appropriate for small children. I am not that offended by or against violence, crassness, or foul language in a film, but I do find it refreshing that this film is not infested with fart jokes, obscenities, and the assumption that everyone has a dark and nasty streak, especially coming from a young male director.

To learn that Jesse Harris wrote Living Life when he was 15, shot it when he was 17, and was able to figure out a way to finance it and find distribution on the day of his high school graduation is a screenplay waiting to happen in itself. His lack of arrogance, unpretentious storytelling, and pragmatic approach to advancing his career goal are good lessons for all independent filmmakers out there.

Go see this film, have a good cry, enjoy its visual beauty, and feel great about humanity and the ability of an aspiring and talented young director to have a dream fulfilled.

Living Life is a terrific movie. Hearty congratulations to Jesse. My wife was observed to get her handkerchief out, a rarity, and I was pleased to produce considerable optical flow, since my ophthalmologist says I have "dry eyes" and should use artificial tears. Jesse brought together a number of plot items that we could react to. One of our granddaughters did a 4 week theater internship far from her Northern California home, but I don't know how this affected her romantic life, since she has professed no attachments. As older adults, we were interested to listen to the dialog among the high school students. My wife commented that the girlfriend in this movie "talks just like Megan" and wondered if training in theater does that. I suspected rather that many intelligent high-schoolers react negatively to the silliness that some classmates show, and speak in a very direct way as a consequence. The tension between the father and grandfather was a very interesting sub-plot because we have an adopted son who totally avoided us for years, but now has become reconciled. Life seems to be like that, but we really were amazed, both by the creative photography and by the maturity of direction, with many exchanges of feeling portrayed without words. I'll recommend to my kids and grandkids that they see this movie.