Movie Review: Set Me Free

Story: The contrast between Hollywood's depiction of teenage life on screen and this amazing portrait directed and co-written by Lea Pool of a 13 year old French Canadian girl is startling (and terribly embarrassing for us as a nation). Can you possibly prepare yourself for all of the TV biopics of Elian that we are bound to have to endure? Gasp! Can't you see Edward James Olmos as Uncle Lazaro? Oh, oh, I digress - sorry. Anyway, it is 1963, somewhere in French Canada, where we find Hanna, the illegitimate daughter of a Jewish Holocaust survivor and a Catholic mother. She is embarking on adulthood, confused about her identity and desperate for some positive role models. She finds a role model in the cinema - unfortunately the character (Luc Godard's 1962, My Life to Live) is self destructive. In this wonderful film we get themes about family, teenage love and experimentation, anti-Semitism (a running theme of late) and self realization. This film is in French with English subtitles. There is something about the sound of the French language that adds more emotion and passion to a film, I think.

Acting: An astonishing performance by Karine Vanasse as the 13 year old Hanna. She is beautiful, smart, sensitive and just what a 13 year old girl should look like on the screen. The entire ensemble cast is effective, strong and interesting.

Pets: One beautiful shaggy dog.

Visual Art: None

Soundtrack: Very 60's and all American tunes.

Quirky Meter: 4

Tissue Usage: 1/2

Oscar Worthy: Could be, but won't.

Length: 96 minutes

LOBO HOWLS: 8