j-wright-london

I Have Electric Dreams is really good! It's the sad story of a 16 year old being split between her separated parents. As a child of split-parents their situation sadly rang very true.

As much as she admires her young artistic dad, he has bad anger problems. While the father's anger was indefensible, it's such a well-made film that (early in the film at least) I felt sorry for him as well as those he hurt. It's a complex situation.

Daniela Navarro plays a slightly older teen going through these difficult times very well. There were subtleties in her performance and the character's writing that had me, a 40 year old man, empathising with problems from being a teenage girl.

It's true that it does bear a lot of similarities to Aftersun - a single dad and his teenage daughter try to bond despite his bad mental health. They are also both excellent debut features from female writer/directors. It makes me wonder if Valentina Maurel has ever met Charlotte Wells.

I really recommend this! Not an easy watch but a strong, emotional ride.