March 24, 2023

"Directed by Raugi Yu, ‘Attic Trunk’ follows 40-year-old Jason, who on the day of his sister Sadie’s funeral, he is asked by his parents to go back to his childhood home to clean up the remnants of her makeshift hospital room and the place she took her last breath. As Jason prepares to clean up the house, a woman from his past, Analise, arrives to pay her respects to the family. As they rekindle their relationship, Jason and Analise are instantly… read the rest.

"Directed by Raugi Yu, ‘Attic Trunk’ follows 40-year-old Jason, who on the day of his sister Sadie’s funeral, he is asked by his parents to go back to his childhood home to clean up the remnants of her makeshift hospital room and the place she took her last breath. As Jason prepares to clean up the house, a woman from his past, Analise, arrives to pay her respects to the family. As they rekindle their relationship, Jason and Analise are instantly transported back in time to when their bond was strong and unbreakable. At a crossroads, Jason and Analise must decide whether or not there is a relationship to salvage as they feel the spirits of their past reaching out through the house attached to so many memories."

Attic Trunk is a story that follows four individuals figuring out where their lives will go next after the passing of Sadie who was ill her entire life. Her parents, her brother Jason, and his childhood best friend Analise all unite under the roof of the family home revisiting the past hoping to make sense of the new normal awaiting them. Much of the story allows each individual to be self focused which is to be expected when dealing with immense grief. As grief is a subjective experience that often translates into self interested actions and thoughts unrelenting until one has the nerve to step out of it. If you enjoy witnessing people process fresh grief (for whatever reason, no judgment here) then this is the perfect film for you. You will be sad, they will be sad, you will want to have tea with Analise (played by Josette Jorge) and ask her if she's okay or if unprocessed trauma is dominating her behavior as she cracks multiple sex jokes at random and sympathetically grants laughs to an awkward sad man who begs for responses to his puns like a puppy doing reverse treat training- Such as it is in real life. The performances of all involved were quite nice and they seemed to have a sense of comradery which translated well. The standout performance was Josette Jorge, whom I hope to see more of in the near future. I think Raugi Yu is certainly in his niche, as it seems that he wants to make us lament in our missed opportunities and questionable life choices whilst weeping over a package of Fudge Stripes.

Truly though this film carries the vibe of an avant-garde Kids in the Hall dramatic skit (Like; The Affair & I'm Joking!) but played straight which was fun.

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