FANTASIA 2016: ‘We Go On’ Review
Jo Satana is finalizing his reviews from films exhibiting at the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival!
We Go On is a tense supernatural thriller that brought the chills during a particularly hot and muggy week of Fantasia 2016. What stuck with me as well, aside from my wet skin flaps, was how much the title mirrored the mind state I was in at the time: late with reviews, missing essential screenings, losing track of priorities and having to push back the festival marketing machine. All you can do really is soak it in, take it out on your family, and simply « go on »….
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Directed by Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland, We Go On is an intimate study on the resolve it takes to let go and move forward. We all carry ghosts of the past with us, some of you even have them tattooed on your body, but how many of us have succeeded in actually exorcising the relics that weigh us down? Miles Grissom suffers from a form of post-traumatic stress. He`s terrified « of death » to the point where he has trouble driving, sleeping, functioning, the classics. Fed up, he takes out an ad in a local trade offering a bounty of $30,000 to anyone who can provide him with irrefutable proof that there is an afterlife. He wants closure. The thing with the supernatural is that, much like that nightstand drawer on your mom`s side of the bed, maybe it should be left alone. Certain things should not be touched.
Apparently, all it takes is a little cash to get to the bottom of life’s greatest mystery. In response to his advertisement, Miles has to sift through hundreds of entries he received. Some are clearly bogus, sent from eager scam artists looking to cash in. Others, however, stand out from the rest. Are they real? Are they the work of a creative con artist? Miles gets sucked in and like one of those dreams where you can’t move, all we can do is watch him go down that rabbit hole, and drag us down with him.
The film is creepy, character driven and strangely focused for an indie picture with a duo at the helm. Also, despite being fronted by a friendly, yet hulking mannoid, it’s curiously emotional and touching, and not in a way that makes me uncomfortable, or regretful of my relationship with my father. It’s a strange release to see a man cry.
We Go On takes a question that really has no possible right answer and through the use of restraint and a focused perspective, makes it personal for Miles and the viewer. What happens to you when you die? What part of you do you take with you to the afterlife? What do you leave behind? Check it out, and don’t tell anyone your answer.
So long sunshine,
I’m out!
Jo Satana