Staring at the Sun

Harry Greenberger | US, 2017 | English | Drama | 116m | Distributor/Sales: Harry Greenberger | Festival marketing sample: Queens World Film Festival 2019 | Trailer

Description: Two alienated ultra-Orthodox teenagers from Brooklyn steal daddy’s car and head west. The first stage of their emancipation is at a mall, where they get a makeover and enjoy their first cheeseburger. On the road they pick up a hitchhiker to whom one loses her virginity. In Phoenix, running out of funds, they are rescued by a diner waitress who offers them jobs, shelter and friendship.

Merits: The protagonists’ rebellion against their strict ultra-Orthodox upbringing is the twist in this American indie road movie. Greenberger mercifully avoids certain genre clichés. His characters are for the most part believable, if not always sympathetic.

Rating: Mild sex, sexual violence, drugs (Cocaine).