Sleeping Giant

(50th KVIFF) I put Sleeping Giant into my festival schedule basically because it was the first screening that I managed to get to on my arrival day. The blind bet was surprisingly better than expected. It’s a pleasant holiday movie, a boys’ summer adventure at a lake with nice atmosphere. The boys hang-out, do silly things, talk about first loves and problems with their parents. It has good cinematography and sound and a brisk editing. What makes it stand out from similar summer teenage coming-of-age stories are the dark tones that surface in the second half, where some lies and bad decisions have lethal consequences and the characters must live with them. The careless summer fun ends and the film stays with the viewer. 70 % (11/07/2015)

I am aware that alternative realistic dramas can come up with different opinions and ideas here and there. But the Sleeping Giant tells the story of three bratswhose fingers I wanted to break as I watched everything they did in the otherwise beautiful countryside around Ontario. The scenes where they’re bashing a dead pigeon with a stick or burning some sort of a bug alive made my blood boil. (03/11/2016)

Another film about how it is possible to grow up as well. I must admit that I wasn't at all interested in watching that gang of kids, but that's just because I'm probably at an age when I am growing further and further away from them, and it affects me a lot. On the other hand, even the adult male character was pointless and it was a nice nothingness. But it was well made with a gradual, unpleasant intensity. (22/07/2016)