The first is “The Weight of Light” from A24. A woman loses her sight. But instead of darkness, she begins to see the emotions of others. Each person is a color, a shape, a temperature. She sees her husband love her—like the warm sun. And he hates her—like ice. The film is poetry about how we hide feelings, even from ourselves.
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The second is “The Year She Forgot Her Name” from Neon. A woman wakes up and doesn’t remember who she is. She doesn’t remember her husband, her daughter, her home. But she remembers a song—the one her mother sang. She begins searching for her. And discovers that her mother died 30 years ago. And she is her daughter, who didn’t want to grow up. The film unfolds slowly, like reading a letter written 20 years ago.
The third is “The Last Letter to My Son” from Netflix. A mother writes a letter to the son she never had. She writes it in a military hospital, knowing she will die. The letter falls into the hands of another boy, in another city. And he begins to live as if it were written to him. The film is about how love can be foreign, but still true.
The fourth is “The Man Who Loved Silence” from A24. A man is a man of silence. He hasn’t spoken for 20 years. His wife has left. His children have forgotten his voice. But he begins to hear sounds—sounds no one else can hear. Birds sing in a language that doesn’t exist. The rain whispers names. He begins to write them down. The film is a meditation on how sometimes silence is the only way to speak.
The fifth is “The Daughter Who Wasn’t There” from Sony. A woman learns that her daughter is not her own. She was taken from a hospital. But she loves her. And now, when her biological mother searches for her, she doesn’t want to give her up. The film is a battle between blood and heart. No villains. Just people who love in different ways.
