Sunday, July 31st
2024 · 12m · Canada
Directed by Meysam Motazedi
Genres: drama
Tones: contemplative, surreal
Set against a searing heatwave, a fraying father-son bond reaches its boiling point during a fateful visit to a local swimming pool. A seemingly insignificant misstep culminates in a moment of self-declaration, revealing the restorative potency of truth.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
MFA thesis with a fragmented dreamlike structure and minimal dialogue at a swimming pool — I've seen this thesis fifty times and it's always 'contemplative.' Bored just typing this.
Motazedi's fragmented, dialogue-light father-son piece carries the formal modesty of an MFA thesis but with the lineage-conscious gestures of Lucrecia Martel's heat-soaked dramas. The autobiographical weight earns my attention.
12:16 MFA thesis with fragmented structure and minimal dialogue — the actor sharing the director's surname makes this a literal family-on-screen exercise, which either makes the gesture devastating or self-indulgent. Only 6 likes on Vimeo, so I'm reading the autobiographical commitment more than audience signal.
Reviews
With Sunday, July 31st, writer/director Meysam Motazedi captures a seemingly mundane afternoon that will forever change the complex bond of his protagonists. The lack of exposition is effective, as it leaves the viewer to piece all the information together.
Sunday, July 31st manages to present a fresh take on coming-of-age narratives by focusing on what remains unsaid between the two lead actors, prioritizing the emotions at play rather than facts.