Today I’ll go over my thoughts for In Ashes.
This tale was interesting from the start. A man is instructed by his wife’s will to journey to a spot and spread her ashes, but he has to take her brother with him, which he seems willing, if reluctant to do. The drive is the majority of the film, with fighting over the radio dial, asking about ice cream, a well timed flatulant joke and other hijinks.
The brother leaves the car and the man has to go get him. When they get to the place, the voice over letter from the wife/sister is poignant and well written. Both gentleman get the message that she’s sorry she had to go (cancer), but they both need help healing and they should rely on each other.
The brother asking about ice cream happened three times in the car trip. At the end of the film, with credits rolling, you see the man and the brother sitting on a curb, eating ice cream, a really good ending.
The sound, unfortunately was extremely distracting, with fluctuations in the gain, mostly from outdoor shooting. There was a lot of echo in places…6
Acting was good, just not stellar, seeming forced early on, but getting better…7
Filming was really good, except for lighting at the lake and some distracting jerky camera shots…6
Writing was very good, a nice tight story with humor and a touching ending…9
Overall, I liked it a lot, but I think the production could have been done better…7