Reely Bernie Faves: The Florida Project (2017)

Not since the cinéma vérité of Chop Shop (2007) has a small, independent film been so raw and compassionate in celebrating its abandoned community. Set in the outskirt motel/apartment slums of Disney World, these are the people we might pass by on our way from the airport to the Magic Kingdom. They have a voice that must be heard.

Writer/Director Sean Baker simply hits the record button and lets his actors and actresses live naturally, becoming so real, they invoke a pain, a yearning, and a redemption in the viewer. Only Willem Dafoe is a Hollywood name, playing a patient, forgiving savior of a landlord at the Pepto-pink motel. Most residents are impoverished, single parents. Some are living their last days getting sunburned by the dinky pool. The requests for rent extensions are an afternoon tradition. There is a postmodern Mary Magdalene role that pulls at the heartstrings. There are kids who know more about spitting contests than arithmetic.

If anything, these people need each other, and this indie miracle demonstrates how a communitarian spirit can come to life on a screen. The ending is a worry-free run into hope.

The Florida Project is a slice of life that can breathe the air of spontaneity yet sit still in serenity a moment later. I am jealous of anyone who sees this movie for the first time.

Have you seen The Florida Project? What are your thoughts?

Reely Bernie Faves:

1. Amadeus (1984)

2. Magnolia (1999)

3. Poltergeist (1982)

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6. The Godfather Part II (1974)

7. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

9. Goodfellas (1990)

10. Nosferatu (1922)

11. Pollock (2000)

12. Kicking and Screaming (1995)

13. Jaws (1975)

14. Fargo (1996)

15. Citizen Kane (1941)

16. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

17. The Endless Summer (1966)

18. Back to the Future (1985)

19. Angel Heart (1987)

20. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

21. The Goonies (1985)

22. Trainspotting (1996)

23. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

24. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

25. Bambi (1942)

26. The Paradise Lost Trilogy (1996-2011)

27. Psycho (1960)

28. Parenthood (1989)

29. Swingers (1996)

30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

31. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

32. Smoke (1995)

33. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

34. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

35. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

36. City of God (2002)

37. 1917 (2019)

38. Black Swan (2010)

39. School of Rock (2003)

40. Mulholland Drive (2001)

41. Groundhog Day (1993)

42. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

43. The Greatest Showman (2017)

44. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

45. The Florida Project (2017)

46. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

47. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

48. Shadowlands (1993)

49. Steve Jobs (2015)

50. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)