Growing up is never easy and sometimes, it can take us on
unique journeys, both outside and inside. Cold November is a movie that
explores this notion and does it remarkably well through a seemingly simple
setup. The film follows Florence, a 12-year-old living and growing up in a
rural part of the US. Interestingly, her family has followed a tradition of the
women going to a deer hunt as a sort of rite of passage for entering into
adulthood.
Florence is near that point, so she and her mother,
grandmother and cousins decide to follow the same tradition. Yet, this process
will not come easy for Florence or her loved ones in a tale of nostalgia,
change and our ever-inadequate abilities to deal with it, no matter if we are
kids, adults or something in-between.
Cold November is directed by Karl Jacob in a unique manner.
With the use of plenty of eerie and atmospheric music, he uses gentle shots and
naturalistic cinematography to create a movie where landscapes, plants, animals,
humans and even houses and guns sort of blend together. In many ways, the movie
is like a coloring book coming to life, but one which deals with serious issues
like mourning and crucial life changes.
Through the hunting topic, the film explores the notion of
life and death, but does it in a roundabout manner: it allows and provides no
easy answers. For example, at one point, the grandma character recounts how her
family resolved to hunting when she was a child and the region was in a middle
of a harsh economic crisis. Her tale is both nostalgic and cautionary, but more
than everything else, it is a tale, where the audience listens to it very much
like Florence does. Like this tale, the movie aims to provide experiences and
an emotional journey instead of a purely cognitive one.
Yet, what impressed me the most is the way the Cold November
deals with its characters. There is a family drama being played out inside of
it, but it is always on the sidelines, just out of the view of the audience. At
the same time, all of this is followed by a sense of tension and a feel that
many things are not being said in the dialogues, only hinted by the family
members.
Bijou Abas, who plays the main character, does a really
impressive job, similar to the rest of the crew, allowing for that family
immersion to take place. Thanks to this and all that it has going for it, Cold
November provides an intimate experience where it is easy to empathize with
Florence and her ongoing change, as well as embrace it in this great indie drama
film.
