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Released on: 2012
Distributed by: Film Movement
Directed by: Ela Thier
Starring: Noa Rotstein, Dalena Le
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The Movie:
Immigrants to the US have a hard enough time of it with the regular hurdles of language and customs. But tackling that as a 12-year-old girl who's had to leave her best friend behind is especially trying. Such is the setting for Foreign Letters, a film detailing how friendships are born and how they're born out by living in them.
Ellie (Rotstein) is a recent emigre from Israel and the beginning of the story is told in Hebrew, in voiceovers of letters she sends back and forth with her good friend back in that country. She starts at school and slowly starts to learn English, albeit in spite of her well-meaning but fairly inept instructor. She soon spies out another non-native in her class, Thuy (Le), a Vietnamese girl who's obsessed with studying and not so much with interacting with other students.
The two form a balanced relationship at first, using Thuy's studiousness to teach English more quickly and effectively to Ellie and for Ellie to start drawing her new friend out as a fun-loving kid. But Thuy seems reluctant to let Ellie in too much while, for her part, Ellie just wants a new best friend. This awkwardness aside the two soon become almost inseparable, sharing secrets around their hopes and boys that they like. The child actors carry the well-made script so well their relationship seems to bloom naturally, not feeling forced or cheesy at all.
The genuineness of friendship between these girls is at the heart of the film as it is writer-director Thier's own story. This sincerity really allows connection to the audience such that the girls' successes and failures, strengths and, ultimately, reconciliation stands as a testament to what kind of friendships can be found by females of any age in this world.
Despite some pacing and consistency issues with regard to the balance of comedy and drama overall Foreign Letters is an enjoyable film from a female director discussing the unique strengths and dynamics of female friendships in particular.
Audio/Video/Extras:
This DVD from Film Movement is presented in fullscreen 16:9 and is very clean looking and matches the nostalgic quality of the cinematography quite well. Audio is served up in either 2.0 or 5.1 Dolby Digital, in English, Vietnamese and Hebrew with very clear English subtitles available in the foreign language scenes.
The extras here include the standard director bio and film trailer that Film Movement always has available. They also have a short, :5-min. interview with Thier and her friend Van whom Thuy's character was based upon. They talk about how they met and how they've managed to stay friends for so long, giving the semi-autobiographical film just a bit more personal resonance. The short film included on this disc is title A Summer Rain, a :17-min. short that serves as the basis of the longer main film. It's basically the same story, just (obviously) with a much shorter arc but all the same actors are there as well.
Summary:
Egregiously marketed with the awful term “dramedy†Foreign Letters is a heartfelt story of discovering friendship, told not so much with reverie as with an appreciative smile for all the honesty, heartache and good times that a true friendship delivers.
