Indie Gems: Love, Antosha

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A look into a life cut short.

Through plenty of home footage and interviews with both his parents, his friends, and several co-stars. This documentary explores the short life of the extraordinary actor, Anton Yelchin. It follows his start in the business, his private battle with cystic fibrosis, and his many hobbies including photography and music. The title of the film comes from how he would sign most of the letters he wrote to his mother. 

Anton Yelchin has always been an actor I loved to watch. And when I read about his death in 2016 I was shocked. It was so random and cruel, but one thing this documentary made very clear was the love for him radiating off of everyone who participated.

His parents especially showed a lot of courage here. It can't be easy talking about the loss of your only child, and it was very clear how much Anton loved and admired his parents too. I loved the little stories some of his co-stars like Chris Pine and Jennifer Lawrence told. Anton seemed like a very deep individual who had some very interesting side hobbies. It's impossible to leave this film with only one emotion. I was mixed with sadness, amusement, and even more interest in catching a few of his films I haven't seen. 

If there's one thing I didn't like about this, it was the overuse of home video from when he was a child. I find home movies in general so awkward to watch, no matter who they are of. It just feels so awkward and I was grateful when we moved past that part of it.

Anton fans out there, this one is for you. It's available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "I'll always dance with my mother." - Anton Yelchin

Comments

  1. thevoid99March 31, 2020 at 3:21 PM

    I really want to see this as I heard awesome things about the film and Anton Yelchin who was definitely coming into his own. I'm glad that he at least had people who were in awe of him and said great things about him. I haven't heard anything bad about him at all as he seemed like just a straight-up kind of guy who was cool with everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 1, 2020 at 6:29 AM

      Nor have I, and I'm glad it's that way. It seemed like he was a solid guy all around.

      Delete
  2. SeanApril 1, 2020 at 3:26 AM

    I will definitely keep an eye out for this one. Yelchin was an amazing actor and it was awful that he died, made worse by how it happened.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 1, 2020 at 6:29 AM

      Exactly. Even more cruel when you learn he already had trouble breathing his whole life.

      Delete
  3. BirgitApril 1, 2020 at 8:38 AM

    I don’t have Netflix so I might see this when it comes on regular tv, I hope. It was horrible how he died, senseless really. I read your above comment, did he have asthma?.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 1, 2020 at 12:48 PM

      This is on Amazon Prime, actually. He had cystic fibrosis.

      Delete
  4. Big Screen Small WordsApril 1, 2020 at 9:26 AM

    This was really good. I still have to watch a lot of films he did, but it did make me want to revisit the ones I've already watched.

    ReplyDelete

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