Jonathan (2016) is a must see

Jonathan from Wolfe Video on Vimeo.

JONATHAN surprised the hell out of me.

I've been turning down a lot films for coverage of late  because I'm getting swamped with festival coverage. Initially I declined the film because it came when I was swamped with other films. The PR  people emailed me back to say they completely understood but if time appeared I should give the film a try because this was going to be a film I was really going to like. Some time later I found I had some time so I circled back and you know what, JONATHAN is a great film.

The plot of the film has Jonathan working on the family farm and taking care of his dying father.  As the father's condition worsens Anka, a nurse, arrives to help care for him. As Jonathan and Anka circle each other, things become complicated when Ron, Jonathan's father's long ago boyhood friend and great love of his life reenters their lives.

Absolutely wonderful family drama is one of the real surprises of the film year so far. A beautiful handled and emotionally moving family drama JONATHAN transcends the crowded family secret genre to be something truly special, 

I tend to be wary of family dramas of any sort more often than not they are set to pivot on  the secret, whatever it is, rather than the people. In the vast majority of the films we lose interest fast and don't really care about anyone on the screen, we just want to see what the secret it is and how it all plays out. In JONATHAN things are different. Even if you know that some secret is going to be revealed by the ten minute mark you really don't care because the characters and their relationships are so well established that what is happening on screen really  means something. This film so hooks you that by the time that Ron and the father meet for the first time there was no sudden reaction to the secrets reveal, there simply was a feeling that we were seeing something happening that was completely natural to the characters. Director/writer Piotr J. Lewandowski  has done what any great filmmaker should do and created a world and characters where things just happen, people interact and there is no hint that there is anything going on other than life (ie. there is no dramatic camera angles or over blown music, there is only real people)

This film is an absolute joy. I don't know what else to say. I don't know what else I can say. This is one of those films where the people in it grab you and you're dragged all the way to the end. This is one of those films where once you've seen it you'll want to go back and revisit it, and not always for the story but because the characters are so finely drawn that you want to revisit them as you would any friend in you life.

I love this film a great deal. I can't be any more critical of it than simply saying that.

And it looks great too. From first shot to the last this film is going to stay with you not just because you have fallen in love with the characters but also because the film looks so damn spectacular.

I can't recommend this film enough. I have nothing else to say other than JONATHAN should be on your short list of films to see.

JONATHAN will be released February 7th, 2017 in the U.S. and Canada via Wolfe Video on DVD & VOD and across all digital platforms including iTunes, Vimeo On Demand, and WolfeOnDemand.com and many major retailers.