The film is a very honest and raw portrayal of a multi-ethnic family trying to keep their rural Michigan restaurant alive during the 2020 pandemic. It is at times humorous, sad, tense, and tear-jerking as we follow the Siev family through the Covid crisis, BLM protests, and the 2020 election. Chun Siev, the father of the clan, butts heads with his oldest child, Jacklyn, who is just as stubborn and hard-headed as her father.
Though at times the film feels that it may turn preachy and political, the filmmakers do a great job keeping the tone of the film fairly level, and the events seen on screen speak for themselves. My only slight complaint is the film began to spin its wheels in the third act, but the eventual conclusion leaves you heart-warmed and feeling patriotic.
I hope this film gets wide enough release to get noticed - if it's not one of the Oscar-nominated documentaries at the end of the year, I'll be disappointed.
Full disclosure: I grew up about 20 minutes from the town of Bad Axe, so I was very familiar with the area depicted in the film. I can say it was a very fair-handed treatment of the county.
Though at times the film feels that it may turn preachy and political, the filmmakers do a great job keeping the tone of the film fairly level, and the events seen on screen speak for themselves. My only slight complaint is the film began to spin its wheels in the third act, but the eventual conclusion leaves you heart-warmed and feeling patriotic.
I hope this film gets wide enough release to get noticed - if it's not one of the Oscar-nominated documentaries at the end of the year, I'll be disappointed.
Full disclosure: I grew up about 20 minutes from the town of Bad Axe, so I was very familiar with the area depicted in the film. I can say it was a very fair-handed treatment of the county.