Jimmy Olsson's ALIVE (2020)

Victoria has brain damage and is stuck in a wheelchair. She is a wonderful person limited by her body. She would like nothing more than to have a relationship like her caregiver Ida has with her hunky boyfriend. After talking to Ida the pair sets up a Tinder profile....

A sweet reminder that those with disabilities are human and want what we all want, namely human contact beyond the disability. It is beautifully acted and touchingly told...

...and I am not going to lie, for a good chunk of the film I thought this was simply going to hit all the expected points and then be done. I was going to be perfectly willing not to review the film as it seemed to be something that was good but not good enough or bad enough that I really had something to say. But then something happened, the film came to close, a final line was spoken and I roared with joy and I said- "okay what happens next?" With one line Mr Olsson made a good film a great one and made me wonder if he could spin it out into a feature. (This is why you must try to stay to the end of all films for glorious moments like this)

I know shorts spun into features don't always work but in that final moment everything that went before sprung into such life I wanted to see where this was going next.

ALIVE was supposed to premiere at the now canceled Cleveland International Film Festival. Look for it to play at film festivals as soon as the Covid19 nonsense is done.