When I'm a Moth (2019) Poster

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7/10
A strange trip through history
BandSAboutMovies27 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"A parable on the ambiguity of political narratives. Possibly an "un-biopic" of Hillary Rodham set in 1969 Alaska. Possibly a collective dream about a young woman with only the most abstract connection to the politician. Possibly both."

How can you not be fascinated after reading that?

In 1969, Hillary Clinton was just Hilary Rodham and she spent the summer after graduating from Wellesley by working her way across Alaska, washing dishes in Mount McKinley National Park and sliming salmon in a fish processing cannery in Valdez, which fired her after a few days of work and then shut down overnight when she complained about the unhealthy workplace. Then, she went to Yale Law School and this past adventure was forgotten as she entered the world of history.

Addison Timlin plays Hilary and the film is careful to never say whether or not she is the future First Lady and Secretary of State. Instead, she's just a young girl just learning to make her way in the world of men, even discovering how her speech works like a short sword against the males that she attempts to connect with.

Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak, who co-directed with Colter to write the script, also worked together on another challenging film, The Wall of Mexico. Just like that film, this one subverts the story that you expect and pushes you to confront your preconceived notions.

As the moth moves in the stages of its life, from egg to larvae, cocoon to taking flight, the path remains fixed and rigid. No matter what happens between Hilary and her temporary friends Ryohei and Mitsuru, men who live within the wreck of a ship left behind by the last tragedy that struck the town of Valdez, her life seems as if it already has been decided. Is the summer amongst the common people her last gasp at trying to change all that? Or her just realizing that she should know who the little people are before she begins to command them?

No matter how you feel about Hilary Clinton, I recommend that you watch this. There hasn't been a film like it in some time.
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1/10
introspective arthouse daze that borders on boredom and draws out far too long
spookyspice17 August 2021
I fear the time period for trying insightful, poetic, arthouse films has passed.

This seemed like a slow burn too early on in the film for me. I didn't 'get' the opening extended shot of gutting fish, other than for artistic choices. I am curious why the filmmakers decided to choose Hilary Clinton as their subject matter when it is slates as 'an un-biopic' - nothing factual or real happens other than she travelled abroad and got fired for gutting fish too slow.

Why the introspective arthouse daze that borders on boredom and draws out far too long, to choose this character to center the film on. Was it for views? To draw people in? That may have been a factor and a slightly smart one at that. But she could have easily been anyone.

A star for the pretty cinematography. Everything else, I couldn't get behind. Appreciate the opportunity to see the film though.
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10/10
A challenging, unusual film...worth watching
leverett-740936 May 2019
I saw this film at its premiere (2019 San Francisco Film Festival). It's an unusual film in that it is based on a little-known real event in Hillary Rodham's life: in 1969, just after graduating from Wellesley, in the summer before Yale Law School, she went to Valdez, Alaska, and worked in a fish-packing plant. She didn't stay long, and that's about all anyone knows about that short adventure.

Zachary Cotler used this thin biographical thread to write what he calls an "un-biopic." WHEN I'M A MOTH is entirely fictional. It speaks about career, destiny, power, and the fiction one must agree to live in order to become part of the American political system.

Directed by Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak, the photography is terrific, and the acting is superb. This is a deep, thoughtful film about the beginnings of a political life. It may not truly be about Hillary Rodham (whose name is never mentioned in the film), but it's definitely about goals and ambition...the drivers of any political life.
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