If you’re a writer, want to be a writer or just enjoy reading, be sure to attend the Lansing Book Party 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 30) at various bookstores and venues throughout the city,
Singer-songwriter Haroula Rose Discusses Her Debut Film ‘Once Upon a River’
Haroula Rose, singer, songwriter, and debut filmmaker emulates cinema from countries outside of the US in her understated adaptation of Bonnie Jo Campbell’s
Once Upon a River.
Once Upon a River
First Run
September 2020 Reeling Chicago Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (US) / October 2020 Chicago International Film Festival / May 2021 Virtual Cinemas and On Demand (UK)
Set in the 1970s,
Once Upon a River (2019) is the story of Native American teenager Margo Crane’s (Kenadi DelaCerna) odyssey along the Stark River (a fictional version of Kalamazoo River). After experiencing a series of traumas, she leaves her home in rural Michigan and sets off in search of her estranged mother. Along the way, she tries to heal past wounds as she meets friends and foes and experiences wonder and danger.
Once Upon a River review â a meandering story of survival
The teenage leadâs performance is the highlight of this film about a Native American girlâs search for her estranged mother
Kenadi DelaCerna in Once Upon a River. Photograph: cousindaniel.com
Kenadi DelaCerna in Once Upon a River. Photograph: cousindaniel.com
Sun 9 May 2021 06.00 EDT
A survival story in which a teenage girl, severed by tragedy from her home, goes in search of her estranged mother, Haroula Roseâs debut feature
Once Upon a River has a superficial kinship with Debra Granikâs
Winterâs Bone. But rather than the sinewy toughness of that picture, this adaptation of the novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell is meandering in its pacing, losing power rather than building it as the story unfolds. Apart from the atmospheric wetland backdrop, the filmâs main asset is Kenadi DelaCerna, self-possessed and soulful in the role of the part Native American 15-year-old, Margo Crane.
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Verdict: Never the Twain
Rating:
Only in the past few years have strained parent-child relationships been quite such a propulsive force in cinematic storytelling.
The subject has always popped up here and there. But now, you can t get away from mothers or fathers and their offspring either losing each other, or finding each other, or doing a little of both.
This week it s the dominant theme in no fewer than three new films. One of them even plays it partly for laughs.
Estrangement and abandonment, they re the new Laurel and Hardy. And each film also has a road trip or significant journey of some kind at its heart, almost as if they ve all been workshopped as part of a film-school project.