It's 1982 Connecticut. Ellie Thir and her parents are Israeli Jews immigrating to America. Her mother had them move to avoid the war which killed her mother's younger brother who was conscripted to fight. She leaves behind her best friend Shlomit and writes many letters to her. She speaks almost no English and struggles to make any connection at her new school. She does notice a Vietnamese girl who is similarly alone. With broken English, she talks her way into having Thuy as new best friend.
The first half is great. It's a coming-of-age story and an immigrant fish-out-of-water story. I love both. The girls are realistic although probably not the best actresses. That's all fine since their amateur awkwardness works for the characters. I do notice that they already made a short of the same story with the same girls a few years earlier. It's an indication to some of this movie's minor deficiencies. The girls are a few years older and are probably at the far end to portray these pre-teen characters. It's not the biggest deal. The bigger deal is the limited drama of the second half. The short probably didn't have to deal with it. It's not heightened enough. Apparently, this is semi-biographical for the filmmaker but that does not preclude manufacturing some fictional drama. I thought the summer camp cost held some potential. Then I thought their simple code could be broken by the mean girl and something embarrassing could come between them. The stakes are their friendship which is great but the danger to it is not elevated enough. Despite that, this is very endearing and sweet.
The first half is great. It's a coming-of-age story and an immigrant fish-out-of-water story. I love both. The girls are realistic although probably not the best actresses. That's all fine since their amateur awkwardness works for the characters. I do notice that they already made a short of the same story with the same girls a few years earlier. It's an indication to some of this movie's minor deficiencies. The girls are a few years older and are probably at the far end to portray these pre-teen characters. It's not the biggest deal. The bigger deal is the limited drama of the second half. The short probably didn't have to deal with it. It's not heightened enough. Apparently, this is semi-biographical for the filmmaker but that does not preclude manufacturing some fictional drama. I thought the summer camp cost held some potential. Then I thought their simple code could be broken by the mean girl and something embarrassing could come between them. The stakes are their friendship which is great but the danger to it is not elevated enough. Despite that, this is very endearing and sweet.