Melissa Center and Will Hawkes' RV (2017) is streaming

Melissa Center and Will Hawkes' RV is a film of quiet power. It is a film that will kick you in the chest and then stomp on it for three or four hours afterward. It is a masterpiece and one of the very best films I’ve seen in 2018.

The almost wordless RV is the trip a woman takes to an RV in the middle of nowhere to get an abortion. That’s it. There are no fireworks, just anguish and pain. Just simple real story telling.

It will leave you stunned.

We have all heard of the back alley abortions that women had to endure. He have all imagined what that might entail, and here it is on the big screen. It is not in the dead of night and in some dark rain soaked alley but a bright sunny day in middle America. Our expectations are shattered.

We know nothing of what caused this to happen or why the woman is choosing use this method, we simply know what happens during the procedure. The whys and wherefores are left to our imagination. We see and feel the emotion and are left to ponder- and be haunted.

I was left staring at the screen, tears running down my face.

RV is a must see.

Yes, it will be playing at various festivals (Kew Gardens Fest-Aug 9th, at Chain NYC Aug 11th & at Sidewalk Fest Aug 26th) but it needs more eyes on it than just what festivals can provide. It needs to be part of the discussion of reproductive rights that America is having or will soon have in the face of Conservative and Far Right pressure. It puts a face on the subject and makes back alley abortions a concrete thing. It needs to be talked about because Melissa Center doesn’t go the easy way and sensationalize everything, she simply shows how traumatic it is. And in doing so reveals her self to be one of the best directors working today.

I don’t know what else to say other than it is one of 2018’s best and most important films.