Natives
2014 · 10m · USA
Directed by Jeremy Hersh
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tense
A Jewish woman travels with her Native American girlfriend to meet her estranged parents, and the visit fractures along seams of culture, secrecy, and inherited grievance. Nobody escapes uncomfortable.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A queer cross-cultural drama from 2014 that refuses the redemption arc and instead just sits in the dread. That kind of nerve is rarer than it should be.
Hersh's NYU short already had Reichardt's restraint and Lonergan's awkward-homecoming instinct — refusing the easy queer family-acceptance beats for unresolved psychological terrain. Remarkable for 2014; I'd revisit it now.
Hersh refusing the easy beats of either the queer family-acceptance arc or the cross-cultural reckoning is the move — sitting in unresolved territory is rarer than it sounds, especially in a 2014 NYU short. The Rachel-with-NPR-knowledge specificity tells me the writing has teeth.
Reviews
One of the more astute short films in recent memory, a rich & truthful psychological evaluation.
Festivals
- SXSW 2014
- Frameline 2014
- Outfest 2014
- Vimeo Staff Picks 2014
- Short of the Week 2014