Wednesday, August 7, 2019

The Father's Shadow - Fantasia 2019 Movie Review



The Movie: The Father's Shadow

The Director: Gabriela Amaral Almeida

The Cast: Eduardo Gomes, Dinho Lima Flor, Julio Machado, Nina Medeiros, Clara Moura, Luciana Paes, Rafael Raposo

The Story: Girl attempts to resurrect her mother from the dead as father begins to fall apart.


The Review:
Gabriela Amaral Almeida's latest feature is a very dark and bleak tale, not because of how it dips into the occult, but for how it shows a family in São Paulo struggling under declining and decaying living conditions. The father's work environment is hostile in just about every way with no room for opportunity and the home life he provides for his daughter isn't much better. Almeaida fills her film with a constant feeling of dread with a deliberate pace, a muted color pallet, and moody soundtrack.

I like the idea of this story but the execution made it difficult to hold my attention throughout. Fortunately, Almeida finishes strong and wraps things up in a very satisfying way. The inclusion of a few more jump scares or ramping up the tension a few notches would have made this a much more engaging film but as is it's still definitely worth checking out.


The Father's Shadow is an official selection of the 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival.


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