Hug Your Loved Ones, Especially When They Let You Down: A Review of Aftersun
Words by Takuma Ohashi (he/him)
Where To Watch: In cinemas now. It’s popular, so book tickets to avoid missing out.
Recommended Viewing Method: With the friend whom you have plenty of DMC’s with at house parties. Perhaps avoid watching on a first date.
Aftersun is equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, set in the 90s at a Turkish middle-class resort. Paul Mescal, best known for his leading role in Normal People, shines as Calum, a divorced father. Frankie Corio has an impressive debut, as Calum’s extremely-mature 11-year-old daughter Sophie.
We notice Sophie both subtly, and later overtly, demonstrate her awareness of her father’s financial difficulties. We are heartbroken for Calum as we witness the extent to which he tries (and occasionally fails) to shield Sophie from his personal struggles. In several instances, the director Charlotte Wells uses split screen framing to show the contrast between the positivity Calum exudes to his daughter and the inner turmoil he reserves for himself. We see him try to teach her self defence, encourage her to play water polo, and take her to enjoy mud baths and saunas. Calum is a father who gives his all, but nonetheless, he falls short. No parent is faultless.
For those of you classified as Gen Z, you may find that Aftersun gives you insight into how my fellow Millennials and I grew up. Back in my day, on holiday, we had to entertain ourselves with whatever was in our surroundings. That meant picking up the boring-looking magazine in the hotel lobby, or immersing yourself in the C-grade live hotel entertainment, both of which Sophie does during the holiday.
What makes Aftersun so devastating is that we are being shown lighting-in-a-bottle vacation happiness, and we have the sneaking suspicion that it won’t last. Sophie says that she’s happy that the sun is the same everywhere in the world, because that fact helps her to feel close to Calum. We can infer that she has spent a lot of her young life without him.
A lot of the film resonates with me deeply. I spent some time in resorts in the 90s with my siblings and our out-of-the-picture father, getting escorted by flight attendants around airports. Equally, I think a lot of the film resonates with people who have family or close friends struggling with mental health. I’m sure those with special bonds with their fathers will cherish Aftersun as well.
There are so many moments that I want to spoil, but I suppose you will just have to take my word for it and go see it for yourself. Watching a father unreservedly apologise for bad behaviour had me in tears. Watching a daughter rest her head on her upset father’s shoulder in a way that says ‘I love you, and I’m willing to accept blame here because it’s you’ had me in tears once again. These are the moments that make life beautiful.
Aftersun simmers; a movie where nothing happens, but everything happens. You will leave the cinema feeling a chasm open in your soul, wanting to hug loved ones and let them know that you love them just because.