September Says (2024)

September Says Review

Synopsis

September and July are sisters, but their personalities could not be more different. September is guarded and suspicious of others while July is open to the world around her. Their single mother, Sheela, worries about them because they do not seem to get along very well. This becomes even more evident when September gets suspended from school and July has to fend for herself. In this time alone, she starts finding her independence which does not go unnoticed by September.

The women’s problems come to a head in an old vacation home in Ireland where things take a turn for the surreal. July’s bond with her sister starts shifting in ways she cannot understand or control — as does everything else around them. The family finds themselves tested by a series of bizarre encounters that push them to their limits.

Movie review

Ariane Labed’s first film as director is anything but predictable: “September Says” tells of two sisters who have created a separate universe for themselves an entirely captivating one for the audience too until it becomes terrifying. It captures teenage vulnerability like no other film before it; Mia Tharia and Pascale Kann give such raw performances that Rakhee Thakrar can’t help but watch on from outside their shared secret sorority house as mother tries not to let slip how much she loves them both anyway.

“September Says” begins as one thing and ends up quite another altogether, all character study giving way to something more eerie and haunting within moments yet always staying true its oddness till then end.

This adaptation of Daisy Johnson’s novel “Sisters” (2020) premieres in Un Certain Regard section at Cannes but its setting never specified further than being somewhere between UK mainland shores & rural Irish holiday homes. EastEnders star Rakhee Thakrar should bring some attention whilst arthouse distribution prospects look decent enough given late-reel twist executed gracefully so yes Mental health awareness puberty growing pains loneliness – there’s lots going on here folks so don’t miss out!

September (Pascale Kann) and July (Mia Tharia) are both teenagers at the same school, not far apart in age. September is fierce and looks after July, who is quieter and more timid. September particularly prides herself on being different from everyone else she doesn’t shave her armpits, for example. The other kids at school call them weirdos or freaks but everything changes when a cute boy starts showing an interest in July one day; she makes a rash decision that has terrifying consequences. The movie then jumps forward without explaining what those consequences were or how they have affected the characters’ lives since then: all we know is that Sheela now has two daughters instead of one, so something terrible must have happened.

A French-Greek actor known for her performances in strange Greek films such as Attenberg or The Lobster, Labed takes Johnson’s novel about happy odd sisters with an open mind. September and July live among unimaginative teenagers who lack their imagination or impishness; they wear costumes all the time which annoys people around them but it never occurs to anyone that this might be a fun way to go through life! They also make animal noises sometimes just because why not? And there are games like “September Says” where if September says something then you have to do it because she is your boss except it does not really work like that because none of us are bosses over each other anyway.

Photography enthusiast Sheela is busy with her career but loves taking pictures of her daughters while working at home.

During the beginning September Says is a soft film that puts one in mind of family. The director does not overemphasize the strangeness of the characters, but instead brings to memory our siblings and those secrets we had. Lab’s cinematography never gets too cute with its straightforward lensing, which doesn’t let us forget this love-filled working-class home where things are real if not obviously expensive. Likewise, the performances are stripped down so that they show us how happy these people are despite being losers in other aspects of their lives, thus affirming Sheela’s statement that only boring individuals feel boredom.

As an extrovert who has a lot to say for herself, Kann really shines in her role as September. July on the other hand looks up to her older sister so much that she hasn’t yet decided who she is when living under September’s shadow; it was therefore very interesting watching Tharia play around with showing different levels of confidence through this character who comes into womanhood quite late in life – especially because there were moments where I felt like something bad might happen after what felt like an innocent awakening sexual desire within July. In fact– this beach house marks a turning point for September Says when mental health crises start looming large along with little sister’s growing up too fast which seemed to me triggered by traumatic past events we’re given hints about during flashbacks edited by Bettina Bohler.

Johnnie Burn won an Oscar for his sound design work on ‘The Zone Of Interest’ and here he creates a spacey backdrop through distorted dialogue and odd noises which implies some kind of shocking revelation still to come – but none of this is done just for show; Instead sometimes you have movies like Septemebr tells us at end (s)he wants all the weirdos out there watching/reading books or whatever else that may exist outside themselves know they’re not alone! Because we live among them all… It’s necessary! We all have a need to be understood and so it’s both wonderful and tragic that for these two sisters it had to be each other.

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