What an intriguingly bizarre little film.
A terminally ill teenager, finds herself facing her own mortality.
A seemingly selfish mother, refuses to let her daughter go.
A young nurse must constantly deal with people navigating their way through this scenario.
While a tortured parrot manifests as the embodiment of death.
Exoterically, the stricken young woman- who goes by her middle name, Tuesday- is forced to confront her own mortality, when she is visited by a harbinger, in the form of a talking parrot, whom acts as the embodiment of death.
Her mother- Zora - burdened by the state of her daughter's condition...but doing the best that she can...has lost her job, and is forced to sell all their worldly belongings (to pay for her nursing care).
Though, she pretends to go to work each day, so as to bring a sense of normalcy to their upended lives.
Upon returning home on this day, however, she is confronted by her daughter, who warns her of her impending death.
During which, she too, must come face-to-face with death, in the form of the talking parrot.
To the point that she unwittingly brings about a zombie apocalypse- after taking matters into her own hands- in an attempt to stave off the inevitable.
Until she is forced to grips with the question of whether she is doing this to protect her daughter (from the inevitable); or herself (because she's unwilling to let go).
Making what ensues the last desperate act of a woman whose life has already began to condition her to accept such a reality (ie being forced to purge all her worldly possessions...with extra symbolism being added via the stuffed bishop rats, that represent her loss in faith).
Which is an example of how expertly esoteric messages are symbolically spun into this film.
For example...you find yourself asking the question...why a parrot?
The answer to which requires a multifaceted symbolic reading.
On the one hand, it relates to the longevity of a parrot's lifespan, being very close to our own; while, as a pet, they act as close companions to us humans; and possess the ability to mimic our actions, and personality.
On another, it simply works as a play on words between parrot and parent.
Though, on it's most esoteric level, it relates to the Rumi poem about the parrot and the merchant.
A tale in which the cage that acts as the prison of a domesticated parrot, is likened to how the body acts as a prison to the soul of a person, trapped in the material world (which is the realm of suffering in both Buddhist and Islamic philosophy).
An idea that obviously resonates with the situation in the story we are presented with here.
To be honest, I really didn't think I was going to like this film at first.
But, by the end, it had won me over.
Leaving me pleasantly surprised...despite the unpleasant nature of the content it acts to confront.
It's such a wonderfully weird- and dark- little film.
With an excellent performance by Julia-Louis Dreyfus as the mother.
Though, it's most commendable aspect, is how it is able to lighten the concept of dealing with the untimely- and unjust- death of a child...while dealing with the dark roads- those left to deal with the aftermath- are forced to traverse.
An excellent first feature from rookie director Daina O. Pusic.
Recommended if you like films like Beau Is Afraid...which I feel like it is somewhat akin to, in both subtle- and not-so subtle- ways.
6 out of 10.
