A Real Pain.

Jesse asks, what does it mean to “feel your feelings”?

From every angle - from the ancestral wound all the way down to the familial bond - from personal despair to community responsibility, what do we owe one another? And what do we suppress to ensure we keep the social waters calm?

We all say we want the world where we can express ourselves - the joy and the pain and the confusion, the angry sentiments and the calm reflections, all in equal measure. Yet, (and Jesse really makes this clear), this is not socially feasible. It may end up all working out but it is, no pun intended, a real pain to be that person the whole time - for yourself, and for everyone around you.

However - leaving or packing things inside is not the way forward. It will not work, it does not last, and it’s not true.

The ending is frustratingly true, and very hard to sit with, despite it being completely innocuous. The entire film is framed around generational trauma, revisiting the places where your ancestors were the subject of a genocide, where life has clearly gone on.

This film is rather timely for the current discussion around numbness, untapped anger and forced apathy among the younger generations, as we watch horrors unfold around the world and it feels as if our local community moves without a thought about it.

A brilliant film, and a brilliantly frustrating message.