Aftersun post-viewing thoughts

Today I watched the 2022 movie Aftersun. I found the title, cover, and a sentence long description that managed to say nothing when browsing some very distant corner of the internet. Inexplicably, that was enough – there was something about it, and I plunged in blind not “expecting” much.

Yet it was definitely not what I expected to start off my 2025 movie watching with, yet am all the happier for it. If this word can even be put anywhere near this unassuming story.

Part of what stood out to me were all the drawn-out scenes. Newer movies tend to have more frequent cuts in their shots, especially if action is involved. Cheap and annoying, it removes you from the story for the sake of fake excitement and acts as a reminder of the attention span epidemic. Aftersun contrasted that with its long, overly so, shots. Imagine a view of ocean waves that lingers on screen for half a minute. Focus on a character dragging on until it becomes awkward. And it works. The very way Aftersun is shot invokes emotions.

Now, the plot. I won’t reveal much, but it’s the highest tension movie where “nothing happens” I’ve ever seen. There is this ineffable weight despite the ostensibly basic, overtly so, premise. The main characters are a father and his daughter who go on a vacation to Turkey and have fun. You know what else starts this way? …To the Moon’s Beach Episode. Sorry, had to add that in somehow. Though this is more than a joke, and there is something to be found in this unlikely comparison.

Was also strangely reminded of Salinger’s short story A Perfect Day for Bananafish.