The opening of this edition of IndieLisboa recovers the mood of American indie cinema in a film about a trans character, where the plot is more focused on human and family relationships with which all people can identify, and less on the usual traumatic issues around identity. Something You Said Last Night is a very assured debut from director and screenwriter Luis De Filippis, a work about universal emotions – love, shame and resilience. A beautiful and brave film, perfect to whet the appetite for our choices for the festival’s 20th anniversary.
Just like the opening, the closing, with The Adults, a new film by Dustin Guy Defa, lies on the terrain between drama and comedy that American independent cinema has been so good at exploring in recent decades. Starring Michael Cera, this is an unusual recent representative of mumblecore, directed by a regular collaborator of Joe Swanberg and Andrew Bujalski. Here, the family drama is about three sullen brothers, disillusioned with the idealism of youth and the cynicism of adulthood. An unpretentious and charming film, to bid a fond farewell to this edition of the festival.
