A mother-daughter trip that’s deserves a reservation.
Important distinction: I did everything in my power to make sure autocorrect didn’t change “Honeyjoon” to “Honeymoon” in this review.
“Honeyjoon” runs for 75 minutes, but a lot can happen in that time frame. Maybe even less than that. It can reflect on the filmmaker Lilian T. Mehrel’s own turmoil of how she lost her father and was looking for hope in the future, it can also feature some beautiful images of Azores, Portugal (some of it was filmed on an iPhone and some of it looks like classic footage), and it can add some honesty and humor within the culture and pathos of a mother-daughter story. When the mom says: “Like Apple, Like Tree,” the daughter corrects her: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” That’s how consistent the movie likes to be.
Ayden Mayeri (“Jackpot,” “Confess, Fletch”) plays a young woman named June, who goes on a trip with her Persian-British mother Leia (Amira Casar from “Call Me By Your Name”) to Azores for their 1-year grief anniversary. The anniversary of when they lost a loved one. They come at time when honeymooners decide to make reservations, which is why the hotel managers would almost think June and Leia are lovers (a double bed and a honeymoon massage package deal). But the movie chooses not to have incestuous thoughts. Instead, it features June arranging a private tour guide from the kind and charming surfer João (José Condessa), and her and her mother talking about Iranian culture and the pathos in their lives.
Yes, it’s true that parts of the film were filmed on an iPhone, and we can tell when the mother, daughter, and tour guide go see some dolphins and some of Azores’ landmarks and environments. With Mehrel’s direction and Inés Gowland’s cinematography, it all looks and feels crisp and gorgeous to look at. And the archipelago can be a character caught in the middle of the mother daughter relationship here, as a sign of happiness overcoming sadness.
The humor isn’t as elevated as it should be (and the mom does have to fart in her sleep), but it’s the dialogue and character development that really wins us over. And both the performances from Mayeri and Casar couldn’t be more emotional and passionate, especially how they have their own ways of expressing their grief. Last year, I suffered through the more commercial “Regretting You,” in which the mother daughter story had Allison Williams and McKenna Grace handling their pathos like bickering sisters. But I didn’t suffer through “Honeyjoon,” because of how mature its mother-daughter story deals with losing a loved on and trying to move forward. And I like how the small romance between the girl and the surfer refuses to flip anybody off as a coping mechanism.
Again, this is a short movie, and even so, that’s plenty of time for us to get to know about June and Leia on this trip. They know some of the Iranian culture to talk about-the fashion and women-and they know when is the right time to talk about their departed loved one. Maybe now isn’t the time, but the movie understands that and so do we.
In Select Theaters This Week
