Release Date: TBD
Directors: Robert Machoian, Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
MPAA Rating: NR
God Bless the Child, or “Babysitting Simulator 2015” as I like to call it, is a minimalistic, home-movie-style film that – while featuring a thread-bare plot – packs a surprisingly strong emotional punch within its final five minutes. Similar to Alexandre Rockwell’s recent Little Feet, the film acts as a candid exploration of youth, starring five real-life siblings left to their own devices.
God Bless the Child begins with Elias, one of the four boys in the family, perfecting his front flips on a trampoline. As he goes to find his mother to show her his progress, he sees her drive off to some unknown destination. It’s this simple setup that sets the stage for a summer day filled with adventure and concern, as the five kids navigate a world without a parent.
Although the eldest and only girl Harper is barley a teenager, she quickly abandons her carefree attitude and steps up as the de facto guardian of the four boys, which sounds every bit as daunting as it really is. The bulk of the film is simply cutting from scene to scene of the five kids playing the back yard or in a nearby cornfield with Harper attempting to locate the whereabouts of their mother.
As one might expect, the kids are a rambunctious bunch, but they never let themselves completely lose control over their actions or emotions. They fight and bicker and make believe, like kids do in real life, which is very much where this film is grounded. Rather than direct specifically scripted scenes of the children playing, it seems as though directors Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck just placed the kids in the scene, started rolling, and let things play out organically. The cinematography lends itself to this style, and while it was nothing we haven’t seen before in these types of films, the slightly out-of-focus, underexposed look was fitting.
Unfortunately, this works to some degree, but even at just 90 minutes, the film begins to drag near the final act. Thankfully, the conclusion is so understated yet poignant, it brought everything home and helped put all the preceding moments into perspective. We’re reminded a few times throughout the film that these kids are boundless, and that it’s Harper’s responsibility to hold the family together, even though she’s only 13. It’s not until the end of the film that we really get a sense of their living situation and that this day may not be a whole lot different than any other.
