LRFF: GOD BLESS THE CHILD Review

There is something to be said for filmmakers who attempt to work outside the system, outside the realm of what is thought to be striving towards success in favor of what feels natural and organic and if anything is to be said for directors Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck's second narrative feature it is that it feels wholly instinctive, spontaneous and more uninhibited than anything you'll see put out by a studio this year. Beginning in the early morning of a day that seems like any other, the second of five children jumps alone on the family trampoline in nothing more than his underwear when he notices his mothers car driving away. He chases after her for a moment before giving up, trusting that she'll be back eventually. The hook of Machoian and Ojeda-Beck's God Bless the Child though is that the audience doesn't. How could a mother abandon her five children? Ranging in ages from thirteen to two with the oldest also being the only girl of the bunch, the weight of the responsibility is hung on Harper. Harper not only has dealt with being her mothers guinea pig in how to raise her own children, but now Harper must take on the role her mother seems to have so easily walked away from. We don't know it at first, distracted by all of the comic relief and small moments that ring true via the adventures of young boys, but Harper is the silent hero of the piece. Harper is the one we come to appreciate and admire and who delivers an arc that slowly creeps up on the viewer allowing the power of the film to do the same. God Bless the Child is very much a film made by filmmakers who seem in tune with letting the images speak for themselves. Giving the audience a suggestion of where the gamut of emotions may run and letting them decide for themselves by documenting the core characters actions not with flashy camera work or distinct directorial flourishes, but rather in the way that they remain steady, trusting in their subjects and the untaught realism they bring to this slightly devastating reality.