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Carol of the Bells
USA 2019
produced by Dale Oprandy, Nancy Batterman (executive), Trevor Drinkwater (executive), Will Sanford (executive), Chris Tisi (executive) for Inclusion Films
directed by Joey Travolta
starring RJ Mitte, Yuly Mireles, Lee Purcell, Donna Mills, Andrea F. Friedman, Donna Pescow, Del Zamora, Elijah Maximus, Dale Oprandy, Jeff Post, Isha Collins, Emily Hudson, Geri Jewell, Aisha McBride, Mia Armstrong, Julia Stansbury, Hannah Munk, Roger Mathey, Sophia Reyes, David Leo Velasquez, Tabitha Mills, Alex Fisher
written by J.C. Peterson, music by David Arkenstone
review by Mike Haberfelner
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It's Scott's (RJ Mitte) birthday on Christmas Eve - but for years he
has refused to celebrate it with his wife Karen (Yuly Mireles) and son
Jeremy (Elijah Maximus), basically because he has never known his real
parents. Now he has hired a private investigator (Dale Oprandy) to find
out his mum's whereabouts, but once he has the results, he refuses to even
talk about it even with Karen, much less reconnect with her. It clearly
affects him though, so Karen, despite being eight month pregnant, tries to
make the first step in his place - and she learns that Scott's mum, Carol
(Andrea F. Friedman), actually has the Down Syndrome and thus lives in an
assisted living institution. Without Scott's knowledge, Karen befriends
carol without giving her true identity away, and the two fast become
friends. When Scott finds out what Karen is doing behind his back, he's at
first upset, and the idea of reconciling with Carol only slowly grows on
him. But the owner of the institution, who just happens to be Carol's
mother Helen (Donna Mills), is dead set against the reunion for personal
reasons, and that this doesn't end nasty is mainly thanks to the
sympathetic head of the institute, Lillian (Lee Purcell). But it's still a
long way to reconciliation of all involved, and then Karen's baby is also
due any day now ... Now I will admit, especially towards the
end, this movie is a bit of a tearjerker - but that doesn't hurt all that
much because the film has an engaging story to tell that has its heart in
its right place, and it's very positive message not sugar-coated but
properly wrapped up in its narrative. And add to this a subtle and despite
the Christmas-theme almost kitsch-free directorial effort and a solid
cast, and you've got yourself a pretty good - and pretty touching - movie
for sure.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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