JESSICA FOREVER PLAT D: Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel. France. 97 min. Sep 12, 9:30 pm, Winter Garden Sep 13, noon, TBLB 3 Sep 16, 3:15 pm, TBLB 3. See listing. Rating: NN
There’s a bizarre and emotional short film in Jessica Forever, and it has nothing to do with the woman in the title. Instead, it’s about restless boys racked with guilt and anger, fighting to calm their masculine aggression and find sensitive ways to relate with each other and the world.
This film could perhaps be a miniature coming-of-age story, but Jessica Forever tacks on a dull, disposable dystopian plot with a faux femme-power element that feels purely decorative. They had to pull a sexy synopsis out of somewhere, I guess.
Aomi Muyock’s Jessica leads a small orphan militia. She provides a serene environment for the recruited orphans (all male) who would otherwise be killing innocent civilians to survive. She also leads them in battle against orphan-hunting drones.
There isn’t actually much battle in this extremely lo-fi gambit, nor is there much for Jessica to do but carry big guns, strike cool poses and be obsessed over by the boys who follow her.
The film’s running joke might be that the boys don’t actually need this woman to tap into their sensitive side. It just takes forever to realize that.
