I always find it amazing when a movie comes along that's effectively able to warm and break one's heart at the same time, but that's precisely the feat accomplished by writer-director David Fritz Fortune's impressive debut feature. This simple but powerful, moving tale tells the touching story of a recently widowed single father (William Catlett) who goes to tremendous lengths to take his Down Syndrome-affected son (Jeremiah Alexander Daniels) to his first baseball game in hopes that it will help cheer him up in the wake of the untimely death of his mother (Brandee Evans). Beautifully filmed in black and white, the picture follows the adventures and misadventures of a devoted Atlanta father doing everything he can to care for his special needs child while simultaneously attempting to bring a little joy into his life, all the while dealing with his own grief at the loss of the wife he truly adored. In doing so, the filmmaker serves up a thoroughly engaging story about love and the challenges to maintain it under trying circumstances such as these, a film filled with laughs, tears, setbacks and milestone victories. There's nothing especially fancy about this offering, but its sustained, earnest authenticity is palpable and enveloping without ever becoming manipulative, melodramatic or schmaltzy. It's no exaggeration to say that it earns whatever feelings it evokes among viewers, an accomplishment magnificently achieved through cinematic devices as basic as powerful facial expressions, the undeniable warmth and chemistry between father and son, and gorgeous, unpretentious imagery. Admittedly, this release feels a little stretched out in the final act, almost as if the filmmaker wasn't quite sure how to wrap things up. But, that minor shortcoming aside, it's easy to see how "Color Book" captured the Chicago International Film Festival Audience Favorite Award for US Features - it's truly that good. This festival release may be a little difficult to find at the moment, but it deserves a general release, showing us what's possible where there's love - and plenty of it - the kind of story that we could all stand to see more of these days.
