My fiancee: "This is the best movie we've seen this year."
We knew we were going to see Eagle vs. Shark at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar later today, and once it started looking rainy, we decided it'd be good to find something else playing there and just plant ourselves for the afternoon. I'm glad it rained and I'm glad we saw this movie.
If there's justice in the world, it'll get seen. It doesn't matter if it gets picked up for theatrical or DVD, but people will get to see this movie and cherish it. One of the first questions during Q&A was where they could buy a copy to show their class from a schoolteacher.
The movie is about the unexpected and empowering friendship of two conservatively, traditionally-raised women: one an Orthodox Jew named Rochel, the other a Muslim named Nasira. Their faiths and names set them apart from their surroundings at a public school where they find themselves assigned as teaching partners. Moreso than either woman, those around them in their professional and personal lives make a great big deal about how shocking and appalling it should be to be seen or be friendly with each other.
There are no explosions in this movie. There are no knife-fights, and there's no CGI. What you do find is a narrative that is less concerned with beating it into your head that there's a message than realistically looking at the coincidental (though in New York City, one would think, inevitable) meeting of these two worlds.
We've seen so many movies criticizing these two belief systems for being arcane and more trouble than they're worth that it's truly, truly refreshing to see people exemplifying the beauty of those faiths working out what they think of each other without being dragged down by an oppressive, self-important wannabe auteur ruining things. There are moments that touch you and others that make you laugh.
You also see some actors with more substantive parts than when you recognize them from this or that movie as "That Guy" like John Rothman, who plays Rochel's father. One of my favorite things about indies is that you get to see these towering stage actors tear up some honest material for God/Allah/Yahweh's sake.
Zoe Lister-Jones (recently of Broadway's The Little Dog Laughed) and Francis Benhamou play Rochel and Nasira, respectively, and it isn't often you get dual leads that obviously work so well collaboratively. Even more rare is it that you have two female characters this well-developed and naturally portrayed.
An indie treasure I hope isn't buried.
Eagle vs. Shark & What Would Jesus Buy will get posted in the morning. Too tired, learned my lesson today.