At the age of 89, Julián takes one last bus ride to El Paso, Texas, to visit his daughters and their children - a lengthy trip he has made without fail every month for decades. After returning to rural Mexico, he quietly starts building a house in the empty lot next to his home. In the absence of his physical visits, can this new house bridge the distance between his loved ones? Over several years, director Iliana Sosa films her grandfather's work, gently sifting through Jul... (Full plot summary below)
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At the age of 89, Julián takes one last bus ride to El Paso, Texas, to visit his daughters and their children - a lengthy trip he has made without fail every month for decades. After returning to rural Mexico, he quietly starts building a house in the empty lot next to his home. In the absence of his physical visits, can this new house bridge the distance between his loved ones? Over several years, director Iliana Sosa films her grandfather's work, gently sifting through Julián's previously unspoken memories brought up by the construction project and revealing both the daily pragmatism and poetry of his life. WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND unfolds as a love letter to her grandfather, as well as an intimate and insightful exploration of Iliana's own relationship with him and his homeland.
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| Original-CinLiam LaceySosa, who shared cinematography duties with two other women, Judy Phu and Monica Wise, depicts a world of humble beauty, of sunrises and dogs and chickens and weed-strewn lots. With a measured pacing (the film was edited by co-writer Isidore Bethel), she has created a film that is more like an elegy than a simple chronicle of events. |
| The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenInviting us to sit a while in this world of tradition, What We Leave Behind offers a vision of a good death as well as one of a good life. The time will go by quickly enough, and they both matter. |
| The New York TimesLisa KennedyWhat We Leave Behind insists upon power in stillness, and the poignancy in staying — and leaving. |
| Austin ChronicleJessi CapeIf you’ve ever missed a beloved grandparent, the beautiful What We Leave Behind will hit home. |
| Film ThreatAlex SavelievWhat We Leave Behind is about generations passing on their hard-earned wisdom. It offers an insider’s glimpse into our neighbor’s culture. Some may find its lack of emotional peaks – save for, perhaps, the ending – exasperating, while others may regard it as a well-edited and shot home movie. But look a little deeper. There’s real poetry here. |
