Four Great Films at BAMcinemaFest, Week 2
Morris from America
Directed by Chad Hartigan
Like Spa Night, writer-director Hartigan’s Morris from America is a coming-of-age tale that derives extra richness from its cultural specificity—or, rather, cross-cultural specificity, because 13-year-old Morris (Markees Christmas) and his father, Curtis (Craig Robinson) are American expats living in Heidelberg, Germany. Thus Morris is forced to negotiate not just the instability of his own burgeoning hormones—especially as he becomes smitten with the rebellious and elusive Katrin (Lina Keller)—but also the bewilderment that comes with adjusting to an unfamiliar way of life. Many incidents of culture clash follow, and Hartigan is refreshingly clear-eyed about how stereotypes cut both ways, with room for understanding on both sides. Morris doesn’t just mature as a teenager in a foreign country, though, but also as an aspiring hip-hop artist: If his earlier rhymes indulged in gangsta-rap clichés, in his climactic performance, he finally does what his father implored him to do earlier: draws from his own experiences to inform his art. But Morris from America is perhaps most inspiring for featuring one of cinema’s most touching father-and-son relationships in quite a while, with Curtis looking after his son with a mixture of tough love and genuine warm-hearted sympathy. Screens June 24, 6:45pm, with Hartigan and Christmas Q&A to follow. A24 will release the film theatrically August 19.