Upon Open Sky (2023)

Upon Open Sky (2023). 1h 57m

“As u0026quot;Upon Open Skyu0026quot; (2023 release from Mexico; 117 min) opens, it is u0026quot;Coahuila Desert, 1993u0026quot; and a father and his teenage sonu0026#39;s car is hit by an 18 wheeler, causing the fatheru0026#39;s death. We then go to u0026quot;Mexico City, Two Years Lateru0026quot;, where we pick up with the teenage son, now 14, his older brother, and their new stepsister. At this point we are 10 into the movie…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this movie is an Arriaga film affair: the script is by Academy Award winning Guillermo Arriaga (u0026quot;Babelu0026quot;), and co-directed by his children Mariana and Santiago Arriaga. Here they assess the impact of a fatheru0026#39;s death upon his children, while also finding their way in a newly mixed family (with a stepfather and stepsister). On its face, a chunk of the movie is a true road movie, where Fernando, Salvador and their stepsister are driving towards the Mexico-US border in search of the truck driver who caused their fatheru0026#39;s death (which covers the first half of the movie). But of course the big question is: what will they do if indeed they find the truck driver (which covers the second half of the movie). The movie is quite introspective, as we slowly learn how each of Fernando and Salvador have coped/still are coping with their fatheru0026#39;s death, while getting to know their stepsister. This is NOT an action movie, or a coming-of-age movie. It is a deeply moving family drama which deeply resonated with me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Upon Open Skyu0026quot; premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, and Netflix eventually acquired it. I happen to read a positive review of it in this Fridayu0026#39;s New York Times, and immediately added it to my list of movies to watch. If you are in the mood for a slow-movie, introspective family drama in Mexico, Iu0026#39;d readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.”