Sundance is known for ripping your heart out. If you are looking for a good time and an easy laugh, you are not going to find many of those in Park City. But if you are looking for something that will shake you to your core and completely flatten you, Sundance is the place to be.
Josephine is the film at this year’s festival that accomplishes exactly that.
On Friday, Josephine won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in U.S. Dramatic, becoming the first film to do so since CODA, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Will Josephine be an Oscar contender? It is hard for me to say anything other than yes.
Director Beth de Araujo is a revelation, delivering a haunting and deeply affecting film about a young girl who witnesses a horrific act by a stranger in a park. What unfolds is not only a story of grief, growth, and tragedy, but a cinematic masterclass in capturing human emotion with honesty and restraint.
Mason Reeves makes an astonishing film debut as an eight-year-old girl forced to process the most unthinkable trauma. Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan play her parents, each trying to guide their daughter while barely holding themselves together. The performances across the board are devastating and deeply layered.
The film explores the ripple effects of an unimaginable event, and the way each character responds feels painfully authentic. No one is perfect. Everyone breaks in their own way. Watching it unfold is harrowing.
De Araujo’s direction is bold and confident. Many filmmakers would rely solely on the power of the performances to carry a story like this, but her choices elevate the film to an entirely different level. The world she creates and the way she allows moments to breathe give the story an emotional weight that lingers.
Tatum delivers the best performance of his career. As a father of two daughters, his work hit me harder than any performance I can remember. There are so many layers to what he is doing, and while some of his choices may challenge the audience, every moment feels deeply true. Chan is perfectly matched with him, and the complexity of both parents is what makes the film feel so painfully real.
It is hard to believe how good Reeves is. I cannot begin to imagine how you prepare a child to handle material this heavy, yet she delivers a performance that is both heartbreaking and remarkably controlled.
There is no doubt that Josephine will be the film that the final Sundance in Park City is remembered for. It is a difficult watch and deals with deeply troubling subject matter, but it is handled with such care and precision that it is hard to imagine it being done any better.
Josephine will stay with you for days. It is exactly why Sundance still matters.
5/5 stars
