SMH

Wow, they don't make movies THIS EPIC anymore outside of the comicbook film realm. But this film has all that Avengers kind of epicness except the power and scope of it comes from the hugeness of actual LIFE and our strange and gut-wrenching and incredibly precious, beautiful experience of this world, ourselves, our possibilities, and each other. The first two-thirds of the film have lots of fun with the high concept of the multiverse and the fact that it stars one of the foremost kungfu-master actresses in the world. The fight scenes were really well-choreographed and *slightly* more violent than I normally feel comfortable with, but the slight brutality is actually necessary to create the immediate stakes and unpredictability/brutality of this crazy predicament our hero finds herself yanked into out of a realistically mundane and slightly manic, quietly despairing "normal life." The final third of the film is the part that really gets out there and SHINES/earns that "EPIC" epithet it rightfully deserves. Because as grand as the multiverse-trotting scope of this story is "physically," what it does emotionally is just as unbelievable transcendent and intensely moving/relatable to any person in the audience. We all have barriers between us and our loved ones, even the closest loved ones, that we all badly wish we could cross in our secret heart of hearts. It's just that life and its brutal menu of needs, vanities, expectations, mortality, and prejudices ends up erecting all these stupid barriers in between us all that really shouldn't be there. I love how this film takes our protagonist step by step from the most closed-off, tiny/scurrying/frantic, high-functioning-trauma-(of-being-alive-in-this-crazy-world)-survivor person ever to a human/woman/mother alive with tenderness and the guts to fight for herself and her loved ones as a real hero. There's SO much more I could say in praise of this brilliant, out-there, and yet jam-packed-with-truth (about both the most internal/personal and out-there external/galactic things about us) film, but others have probably already said it. Anyway, you just have to experience this epic, *actual* tour de force of a film yourself, so stop reading reviews and just book a ticket!

LUCE is like an empathy litmus test that asks: CAN you truly care about and be a nurturer of this brilliant, potential-filled young man who is teetering on the verge of adulthood/coming into his own -- even if you're not sure whether he'll become a force for good or if he'll let hatred/his cruel and unfair experiences turn him into something very dangerous? His white adopted mom (played with desperately well-intentioned hysteria mingled with genuine maternal care by Naomi Watts) is determined to prove love can heal and make right even the most grievous wrongs, be it violence against a child or generations of her race's oppression of her adopted son's. This film is a pressing human drama enrobed in a thriller/mystery story -- an engrossing, compelling, and (at times) intentionally uncomfortable watch, because it dares to grapple with all the deepest questions that people on both sides of the racial divide who actually try to engage with it/make things right would ask in their heart of hearts. It's smart enough to make us think and responsible enough not to leave us with falsely easy solutions and platitudes. Fantastic performances all around -- this should have been watched by more people.