Showing at the still ongoing 19th annual Milwaukee Film Festival this past Saturday, Jazzy, directed by Morissa Maltz, is a part of their Rated K: For Kids and North American Independents series.
With two more presentations of the film happening on May 2nd and 4th at the Oriental Theater for those interested, the piece is an absolute must-see and shining standout so far that cannot be ignored. The film serves equally as a documentary and fictional narrative in being based on the real-life stories and experiences of the scriptwriters.
Centering around the everyday adventures of a young Oglala Lakota girl growing up in a trailer park and her ever-evolving relationships with friends, the picture starts in elementary school and ends on the looming concept of puberty in the blink of an eye.
Shot across six years, the seamless transitions as the actors physically age never overly draw attention to themselves to the point of becoming imperceptible, as the sudden realization of how much change has openly occurred hits like a brick by the conclusion.
The time passes without any notice as characters develop right in front of the screen so naturally, scenes blending together in a constantly unfolding and flowing state, putting audiences in an almost dreamlike trance that one does not want to wake from.
While creating a basic synopsis might be a bit hard since there is no truly defined plot or sweeping arcs, what I personally greatly appreciated is how the movie warmly embraces the inherent weirdness of being a young girl, an overlooked demographic who are so often forgotten and underrepresented in the media at large.
From roleplaying with stuffed animals in unusual voices in tryhard attempts at being funny, to messing around with makeup in secret against the direct wishes of parents and looking like more of a colorful clown than a model in the end, there are so many moments that I could have sworn were taken straight for my own childhood.
Some may be frustrated by the lack of direction in its continual progression and hesitancy to break new ground, but I find the genuine dedication to authenticity incredibly worthwhile. I think there is a lot of merit in demonstrating the mundane, simply hanging out with ordinary people on bus rides and exploring local attractions, which makes us all treasure and reflect on our daily activities more.
Out of the couple of movies I have seen in the last few days, Jazzy is my favorite by a long shot, which I could not be more excited about since this was perhaps my most anticipated of the whole festival. Perfect for fans of The Florida Project or anyone simply wanting to relive those listless feelings of youth that are hard to return to in practice, I wholeheartedly recommend what Morissa Maltz has done here and cannot wait to see what she does next.