Renowned director Alexandre Rockwell (In The Soup, Pete Smalls Is Dead) returns to Americana after Little Feet, which we screened during the 2015 edition. Named after the popular song by Van Morrison and winner of the Crystal Bear at the 2020 Berlinale, Sweet Thing bears certain similarities with its predecessor, as if it were its second part.
In Sweet Thing, we find that same retro, black-and-white aesthetic, exquisite musical selection, and deserted, desolate landscapes, featuring the hypnotic Lana Rockwell and the friendly Nico Rockwell, the director’s children.
Now aged 15 and 11, the children we met in Little Feet are facing a more hostile and dangerous world in the coming-of-ager Sweet Thing. Dealing with an alcoholic father (Will Patton) and a neglectful mother (played by their own mother, Karyn Parsons, the unforgettable Hilary Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), the siblings must follow their liberating instincts and escape the jaws of adulthood.
With Sweet Thing, Rockwell once again delivers what he does best: a delicate, yet sordid road movie, a flight into the wild with moments of incomparable beauty. With its 90 vibe, his last feature is a joyful hymn to the resilience and freedom of childhood.
