Release: The Crow: Yomi

 

The Crow: Yomi

Genre: Supernatural/Thriller/Romance

Director: Takashi Miike

Writer: Jack Brown

Based on the comic created by James O'Barr

Cast: Mike Faist, Minami Hamabe, Tadanobu Asano, Masatoshi Nagase, Rie Miyazawa, Masaki Okada, Tak Sakaguchi, Emma Appleton

Budget: $37,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $40,109,504

Foreign Box Office: $63,900,197

Total Profit: $17,444,595

Reaction: Chalk up another success at the box office for Jack Brown - who now has yet to have a flop in his first dozen films.

"This might be the Crow sequel we've waited decades for. Takashi Miike and Jack Brown fuse supernatural vengeance with Japanese folklore, and it rips. Mike Faist is vulnerable and weirdly fierce, and Minami Hamabe’s Haruko is haunting even in stillness. It’s brutal, yeah - like, really brutal - but it means something. And that soundtrack? Straight-up ethereal doom. This is what The Crow should be: romance, ruin, resurrection." - Bruce Filmore, Hawkins Post

"Director Takashi Miike’s signature visceral style meets a surprisingly tender heart, making for a uniquely dark, stylish, and emotionally resonant thriller that honors its gothic roots while carving out its own distinct, blood-soaked path."- Seth Black, Seattle Times

"The Crow: Yomi is a stylistic fever dream that mistakes prolonged brooding for profundity. Takashi Miike, always an uneven auteur, drenches the screen in grief and gore, occasionally striking a poetic nerve but often wallowing in excess. While the film flirts with arthouse dignity—its cherry blossoms and whispered sutras nod toward something more elevated - Yomi devolves into a sledgehammer opera of nihilism. There’s texture, yes, but little restraint." - Harold Fenwick, The Atlantic Review of Cinema

Rated R for brutal violence including sexual assault, disturbing images, and language

Last Resort Films Jukebox: The Crow: Yomi

 

Now Showing: The Crow: Yomi

 

The Crow: Yomi

Genre: Supernatural/Thriller/Romance

Director: Takashi Miike

Writer: Jack Brown

Based on the comic created by James O'Barr

Cast: Mike Faist, Minami Hamabe, Tadanobu Asano, Masatoshi Nagase, Rie Miyazawa, Masaki Okada, Tak Sakaguchi, Emma Appleton

Plot: Jamie Osterberg (Mike Faist) steps off a train in Tokyo, wheeling a suitcase. He arrives on the campus of Seijo University where he is set to work on a graduate degree in mythology. He skips getting settled into his room, instead going straight to the university archive. He studies aged scrolls depicting black-winged crows escorting souls toward a shadowed gate. His Japanese is slightly less than fluent. He calls for assistance. Haruko (Minami Hamabe)  enters with a stack of bound texts. She’s quiet and formal, dressed simply. She watches Jamie struggle to interpret a sutra and gently offers the correct reading. He thanks her awkwardly, fumbling a small bow. She nods and leaves him to his work. 

In Portland, Oregon, Emily Osterberg (Emma Appleton) cleans her tattoo needles when her phone rings. Her brother Jamie is on the line. She teases him for being obsessed with Japanese ghosts rather than girls. Jamie mentions that he met a cute girl at the archives, so he may not be a total embarrassment. 

The next day, Jamie returns to the archive. Haruko is there again. Their conversation begins to extend beyond the scrolls - favorite shrines, ghost stories, childhood fears. She corrects his grammar and he gets flustered. 

The two begin to meet outside the archive. They walk side streets lit by vending machines, visit weathered torii gates, and pause at incense altars for reasons neither explains. On a covered train platform, Jamie speaks earnestly, gesturing awkwardly toward her before stopping himself. 

At night, Haruko rides the subway alone, clutching her bag. Hendra (Tadanobu Asano). in a dark suit leans near the far door. He watches her reflection in the window. When she looks up, he’s gone.

In the mountains, Haruko’s family home sits amid rice fields and cedar trees. She brings Jamie home over a long weekend. Her father (Masatoshi Nagase) eyes Jamie with caution. Her mother (Rie Miyazawa) offers tea in silence. Haruko says little, but her glances toward Jamie are softer now. 

Later that evening, Haruko leads Jamie down a quiet dirt path beyond the rice fields, through a line of willows, until they reach an old, sloped clearing. A single cherry tree sits alone on a hill, petals fluttering in the wind. She tells him she used to come here to hide from the world. Jamie takes off his jacket and spreads it on the ground. They sit together in silence for a long time. Haruko leans into Jamie, resting her head against her shoulder. She begins to unbutton his shirt slowly, carefully. He follows her lead, nervous but unable to look away from her eyes. Under the cherry blossoms, they make love for the first time—tender, quiet, unhurried. When it’s over, they lay in each other's arms, petals drifting down like soft pink snow.  Up on the hillside, a man in a black suit watches from the trees. When Haruko looks up suddenly, sensing something, there’s no one there. 

The next morning, Jamie joins Haruko's father in the garden. The older man offers him a small carved talisman tied with a red cord. Jamie thanks him. The man doesn’t answer. He just walks away down the path. Haruko emerges from the house and smiles faintly as Jamie holds the charm up to the light.

Rain slashes against the glass of the train window as Jamie and Haruko return to Tokyo. He rests his head on her shoulder. She listens to the rhythm of the rain more than the sound of his voice. That evening, Jamie and Haruko cook dinner in her apartment. They laugh softly as he misreads kanji labels and nearly dumps vinegar into the rice. She corrects him without mockery. Later, as they eat on the floor, she casually locks the sliding glass door and draws the curtain tighter than usual.

Elsewhere in Tokyo, a Yakuza club pulses with red light and smoke. Kaoru (Masaki Okada) sits half-naked in a velvet booth, surrounded by girls and empty glasses. His tattoos gleam under the strobe. Sada (Tak Sakaguchi) steps in and leans down to whisper something. 

Haruko leaves for her university job the next morning. Jamie kisses her at the station. She vanishes into the crowd. That night, Jamie walks through a quiet alley carrying food. His phone buzzes—an unread message from Haruko. He doesn’t see the figures closing in behind him. Kaoru moves first, laughing like it’s a game. Sada hits Jamie in the back of the skull with a blackjack wrapped in rosary beads. Jamie drops, stunned but conscious. They drag him into a black van and drive off. Through the haze of pain, Jamie sees two crows following them, hopping between rooftops. He tries to speak but gets a boot to the face. The van pulls into the rear lot of an abandoned onsen on the outskirts of the city. Jamie is dragged through a corridor, blood trailing behind him. When they reach the central bath chamber, Kaoru crouches beside him and pulls out a switchblade. He asks Jamie if he thinks Haruko will cry when Hendra gets his hands on her. Sada and Kaoru dose Jamie in gasoline, slowly and deliberately. Kaoru flicks a match, then puts it out with his fingers, just to watch Jamie flinch. He then lights another and flicks it at Jamie. Jamie screams as the fire takes him.

Haruko wakes in her apartment in a cold sweat. She hears glass shatter down the hall. Before she can react, the front door bursts open. Hendra steps in. She claws at his face and screams. He slaps her once, then carries her out. Inside a desecrated shrine hollowed out beneath a subway line, Haruko is stripped, bathed, and dressed in white by silent attendants in black masks. Her arms are bound. Symbols of Maō - inked eyes, stitched mouths, broken lotus petals - cover the walls. Hendra grabs Haruko by the throat and tells her that his can happen two ways - one with less suffering.  He undoes the top button of his shirt, rolls up his sleeves. She spits in his face. Hendra smiles as he wipes the spit away with his fingers and tastes it. He smiles and dismisses the masked attendants. He circles her slowly, explaining that her resistance only feeds the offering. That her body means nothing if it doesn’t first break. That Maō does not accept what comes willingly - he demands purity destroyed. Haruko tries to stand, but he grabs her by the hair and throws her back down. She curses him through gritted teeth as he begins to unfasten his belt. She kicks at him and scratches at his face before he pins her down. Her head turns to the side and a single tear runs down her cheek, mixing with the blood from her lip as Hendra assaults her. When he's done, Hendra presses a dagger deep between Haruko's ribs, watching as she bleeds out. Her corpse lies in the center of a shrine. The assistants return, piercing iron hooks into Hendra's back. Slowly, he is hoisted above her body. Blood begins to drip from the hooks embedded in his flesh. As he bleeds, he chants to Maō. A crow watching from above lets out a pained shriek. Haruko’s eyes snap open. She gasps, but there is no breath - her soul is gone.  

The abandoned bathhouse is nothing but blackened structure now. The roof collapsed during the fire. The tile walls are cracked, blistered, open to the sky. Only the stone foundation of the soaking pool remains. A crow lands silently atop a splintered beam. Another joins it. Both stare down into the wreckage. Rain begins to fall. The ash turns to mud. A pale hand pushes through a layer of soot and debris. Jamie’s form emerges slowly from the wreckage - naked, burned, skeletal. He collapses on the edge of the stone pool, gasping. One crow hops closer. Jamie looks at it. It tilts its head. He recognizes something - not with words, but with instinct. He knows what he is. He knows why he’s here. Across the ruins, he finds remnants of discarded clothes and wraps himself in a weathered black coat. He doesn’t remember dying. But he remembers why.

Jamie walks through the Tokyo night in silence. The city doesn’t notice him. He stops in front of a ramen stall. His reflection in the window shows a face somewhere between the living and the dead. He drops to his knees. A crow lands beside him.

Kaoru sits at the bar of a nightclub, spinning a knife between his fingers. Kaoru turns just as Jamie smashes a broken liquor bottle across his face. Kaoru screams, falling back, slashing wildly. Jamie doesn’t flinch. He grabs Kaoru’s head and shoves him face-first into the bar’s hot griddle. Kaoru's face begins to melt as Jamie's holds it against the burning surface. Jamie then drives the broken bottle straight into Kaoru’s throat. A crow watches from a light fixture above. 

Emily sits alone in her Portland tattoo studio, closing up for the night. Her phone rings. Jamie's voice comes through the other line. He tells her that he won't be coming back from Japan - he's dead. She doesn't know what to say. Jamie says that he doesn't know how long he has, but that he has to finish something. Emily asks if Jamie is pulling a joke. Jamie hangs up the phone. Emily stare at her phone in disbelief. 

Sada leans back in a velvet booth of a bar, flanked by two girls barely in their teens. He feeds one a cherry from his drink. Jamie enters. Wet from the rain. Silent. He grabs a heavy ashtray off a nearby table and smashes it into the bartender’s head without breaking stride. Sada starts to stand, but Jamie knocks him back into the booth, smashing him with the ashtray. The girls scatter. Jamie drags Sada out into the alley behind the bar. Jamie slams Sada's head into a trash bin, demanding to know where Hendra is. Sada chokes out that Hendra is in the Marunouchi district on the top floor of an unfinished tower - Hendra calls it his temple now. Jamie asks what will be waiting for him inside. Sada, spitting blood, mutters, "Hell." Jamie slams Sada's face into the asphalt several more times until there is nothing left but pulp and skull fragments. 

Hendra kneels before a statue of Mao. A laptop screen crackles beside him. Surveillance footage loops: Kaoru's body slumped on the floor of the nightclub, jagged bottle sticking out of his throat, blood pooling on the dance floor. Hendra watches it silently, rewinding the moment when Jamie enters the frame over and over again - believing his eyes must be playing tricks on him as Jamie could not still be alive - Mao has not willed it. Across the room, Haruko's body jerks, more marionette than woman. Her skin is pale, her lips colorless. A shimenawa rope hangs around her neck like a leash. Hendra approaches slowly. He whispers that Jamie has returned from the dead, or something else is wearing Jamie’s face. He wonders aloud what it means - perhaps the old gods are testing him. He tells Haruko that the final ceremony will need to happen sooner. That her vessel will not last forever. He strokes her cheek, then tightens the rope slightly with a flick of his fingers, just to watch her blink. He smiles. Hendra turns back to the laptop. He rewinds the footage again.

Jamie stands across from a black monolith of a building rising above Minato. Two crows land on a lamppost beside him. One of the crows caws once, then flies toward the tower. Jamie follows. Jamie takes the elevator to the penthouse level. He takes deep breaths on the trip up - thinking back on images of Haruko. When the doors open, he finds a gutted penthouse taken over by Hendra's temple to Mao. Jamie first sees Haruko, eyes open but lifeless. Hendra then steps out of the shadows, ceremonial hooks already embedded into his flesh. His body is covered in self-inflicted cuts, each one shaped to mimic the crow’s wings. He smiles when he sees Jamie, telling him that he made it just in time for Mao to accept his offering. Jamie doesn't flinch. The crow screeches from above. Jamie slowly moves closer, eyes scanning his surroundings. He circles Hendra in a silent rage. Hendra moves toward Haruko. Her head twitches slightly as she recognizes Jamie's presence, but there's still not emotion in her face. Hendra tells Jamie that Haruko has already been offered to Mao - her soul was shattered in the ritual, just her shell remains, beautiful as it may be. Hendra tells Jamie that he will now offer him to Mao as well. Jamie moves without warning, lunging across the space and tackling Hendra into a pillar. Hendra draws ceremonial dagger, swinging it at Jamie, grazing his ribs. Jamie barely reacts. He hurls Hendra into the altar, snapping part of it in half. Candles scatter, catching fire to the space. Hendra rises. He pulls two hooked chains down from the ceiling frame above and swings them like whips, slashing the air. One catches Jamie's shoulder, ripping through his jacket and sticking into his dead flesh. Hendra swings the other, but James grabs the chain in mid-air and yanks, pulling Hendra off his feet. Jamie pounces on Hendra, punching with brutality - nose, jaw, temple. Blood spatters onto the floor. The fire spreads to the walls and ceiling of the penthouse. Hendra notices his dagger on the ground nearby. He drives it into Jamie's neck - deep enough that it should kill any normal man. Cold blood oozes from Jamie's neck. Jamie pulls the dagger from his own next and drives it straight into Hendra's chest - again and again. Hendra coughs out that Jamie is too late - Mao is already coming. Jamie stands and walks to Haruko. He breaks her free from her bonds. Her lips move slightly - as if trying to form his name, but no sound comes out. Jamie kisses Haruko's forehead. Then he gently grips her chin, steadying her head, and slides the blade of Hendra’s dagger into the base of her skull. Her limbs jolt once, then go still. Jamie then lifts Harukos' lifeless body and takes her out of the penthouse. Behind them, the fire consumes Hendra's body and his altar to Mao.

The sun has risen by the time Jamie climbs a winding mountain trail, Haruko's lifeless body cradled in her arms. Cherry blossoms drift down the from the trees lining the narrow path. At the top of the hill, he arrives at Haruko's family home. Her mother and father stand outside, already awake. Her mother gasps at the sight. Her father steps forward. Jamie kneels and offers Haruko’s body to them. Her mother drops to her knees, sobbing. Her father lowers his head and accepts her without question, holding Haruko's body like she is a child again. Jamie turns to go. Jamie stops beneath the blooming sakura tree where he and Haruko once made love. He looks up at the petals drifting down like snow. He digs into the earth with his bare hands, not stopping until he has dug a hole big enough for a grave. Jamie lowers himself into it. He crosses his arms over his chest and looks up one last time as petals fall across his face. Both crows who have followed Jamie perch in the tree above, one on each side of the tree's trunk, watching over Jamie's body like sentinels.

Top 10 Japan-Set Films

 

Sherman J. Pearson here for another Top 10. With The Crow: Yomi - a new Japan-set Crow story - due out this round, I thought it could be interesting to take a look at other films in LRF's history set in Japan. I haven't had a chance to view The Crow: Yomi yet, so I couldn't consider it here. Also, I did only include films with multiple scenes set in Japan - so as much as I love Believe It or Not! I did not include it since it only featured one scene in Japan.

Top 10 Japan-Set Films

10. Robopocalypse

9. Fractured

8. Tamahagane

7. Shoe Dog

6. Tokyo Rose

5. Gamera

4. Shogun

3. Elektra

2. Hiroshima

1. To the White Sea

HISTORY LESSON (SEASON 9)

 

Welcome to History Lesson, where we take a closer look at the movies that dare to tackle real-life events with varying levels of accuracy, drama, and WTF casting choices. These films promise to educate and entertain, but more often than not, they rewrite history with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. We’ll be your guide through the land of miscast biopics, dramatic embellishments, and historical “inspired-by” liberties, breaking down whether these flicks are Golden Reel Award-worthy masterpieces or just a big-budget Wikipedia summary. Either way, it’s more fun than your high school history class—and there’s popcorn.

This time around we will take a look at Season 9's fact-based slate....

HISTORY LESSON: OUTLAW COUNTRY

Director David Michôd takes on the legend of Jesse James in Outlaw Country, a Western where history checks its facts at the saloon door. Garrett Hedlund and Taylor Kitsch star as Jesse and Frank James, a pair of Confederate sharpshooters turned bank-robbing folk heroes who shoot first and let their charm do the rest. Dakota Johnson plays Zee, Jesse’s love interest with a rifle as sharp as her wit, while Jude Law’s Allan Pinkerton and Sean Bridgers’ railroad tycoon Gabriel Raines chew scenery as the villains trying to tame the James-Younger Gang’s wild streak. From the first train heist to the gang’s dramatic split, the movie gallops through a stylized version of history with all the subtlety of a runaway horse.

Speaking of history, Outlaw Country doesn’t just take liberties.... it commandeers them like a stagecoach. The James-Younger Gang did pull off daring robberies, but the whole “first daylight bank robbery in history” bit? Let’s just say history books might politely disagree. And while Pinkerton probably wasn’t thrilled with Jesse James, the film’s version of events - complete with naked tree-tying and cannonballs stopping trains - feels more like a fever dream than a fact-check. Still, with shootouts, sibling rivalries, and just enough historical grounding to justify the cowboy hats, Outlaw Country delivers exactly what it promises: a rip-roaring, highly fictionalized outlaw adventure that’s as entertaining as it is historically questionable.

HISTORY LESSON: ONE FOR THE AGES

One for the Ages is a gentle, tear-streaked salute to one of the greatest athletes of all time that seems determined to go down easy - even if its subject, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, never did anything the easy way. Natalie Portman gives a measured, awards-season-calibrated performance as Babe, radiating dignity, humility, and just enough grit to keep the movie’s Hallmarky sheen from drowning the drama. The film covers the final years of Zaharias’s life, centering on her comeback from terminal cancer to win the 1954 U.S. Women's Open with a colostomy bag strapped to her side - a real and jaw-droppingly badass historical fact that director Lasse Hallström handles with tasteful restraint and perhaps a little too much soft lighting.

The film’s biggest asset is its quiet emotional maturity; its biggest liability is its resistance to fully engage with the more complicated and radical elements of Babe’s life. The possible romantic relationship between Babe and Betty Dodd (Saoirse Ronan) is hinted at with just enough plausible deniability to keep studio PR teams happy, while Vince Vaughn’s George Zaharias gets a few too many warm-husband-redemption beats for someone who mostly exists to complain about optics. Florence Pugh as Mickey Wright adds charm but is relegated to the stock role of respectful rival. Still, the film's heart is in the right place - even if it plays more like a respectfully sanitized eulogy than a gutsy portrait of a trailblazing icon who would’ve scoffed at all this restraint.

Release: Full Custody

 

Full Custody

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Director: David Gordon Green

Writer: John Malone

Cast: Shane Gillis, Melanie Lynskey, Vale Cooper, Haley Joel Osment, Marin Ireland, Chi McBride, Laurie Metcalf, Tim Baltz

Budget: $20,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $71,997,290

Foreign Box Office: $20,219,000

Total Profit: $45,795,333

Reaction: The starring debut of Shane Gillis couldn't have gone better as far as the studio is concerned - with a lower budget and strong domestic box office, not doubt a result of Gillis' large, loyal fanbase.

"Full Custody hits a sweet spot between crude laughs and genuine emotional weight. Gillis stumbles and swears his way into an unlikely father figure role, but it’s the film’s subtle emotional turns - and a low-key electric supporting turn from Melanie Lynskey - that give it its staying power. There’s real heart underneath the gas station burritos, dominatrix reveals, and busted raffles. It’s a working-class fairy tale for the deeply flawed." - Max Brewer, The Daily Tattler

"Full Custody is a scuzzy little heart-warmer with drywall dust in its teeth and a surprising tenderness beneath the beer stains. Shane Gillis gives a breakout performance as Jimmy, a guy who lumbers into responsibility one Cheeto at a time, and Melanie Lynskey matches him beat for beat with quiet grace and a dominatrix edge that’s both hilarious and oddly moving. David Gordon Green directs with a loose, lived-in charm, capturing broken families and unspoken grace notes in the flicker of a busted ceiling fan." - Shannon Carmichael, Poise Magazine

"Before viewing this film I was confused, a John Malone penned Dramedy starring Shane Gillis. But why would I be confused when it is John Malone penned. He somehow manages to get Shane Gillis to deliver a heartfelt performance and delivers one of the most heartwarming, delightfully funny films I've seen in a long time. Gillis' Jimmy is somebody you want to root for. Add in a great supporting cast and a great soundtrack, you have yourself a winner."- J. Johnson, DailyMovieNews.com

Rated R for language, sexual content, and thematic elements.

Last Resort Films Jukebox: Full Custody

 

Now Showing: Full Custody

 

Full Custody

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Director: David Gordon Green

Writer: John Malone

Cast: Shane Gillis, Melanie Lynskey, Vale Cooper, Haley Joel Osment, Marin Ireland, Chi McBride, Laurie Metcalf, Tim Baltz

Plot: Jimmy McCabe (Shane Gillis) wakes up in a recliner. His phone alarm blares from across the room. After a quick swig of leftover warm beer from the night before, he grabs his tool belt and lumbers out the door. In the work van, his buddy Lenny (Haley Joel Osment) is already lighting a cigarette and bitching about the site foreman screwing up the supply order again. They pull up to the jobsite - an unfinished strip mall. During their first of many smoke breaks, Jimmy and Lenny sit in the back of the van eating gas station sandwiches. Lenny begins ranting about a guy who brought cordless tools to a wired job. Jimmy's phone rings - unknown number. Lenny encourages him to answer it to mess with the scammer on the other end. Lenny eggs Jimmy on, but the call turns out to be a serious one. Jimmy's sister Tina has overdosed again and has been admitted to court-ordered rehab. Her daughter, Sadie, needs a guardian. Jimmy thinks there must be a mistake - surely he can't be at the top of the list to take custody.

Later, in court, Jimmy stands before a judge looking like he dressed in the dark. Tina (Marin Ireland) appears via video call from rehab, barely upright. She tells the judge that Jimmy's the only family she has left in town. Jimmy reluctantly signs the custody paperwork, trying to joke his way through the discomfort. Afterward, Jimmy waits at Children Protective Services, slouched and restless. A case worker, Darren (Tim Baltz), finally appears, apologetic for making Jimmy wait. Sadie (Vale Cooper) enters. Sadie barely remembers Jimmy. She stares at him like she's trying to figure out if this is a punishment or a test. Darren hands over a folder and walks through basic instructions - school starts tomorrow, appointments are listed, call if anything serious comes up. Out in the parking lot, Jimmy unlocks the truck. Jimmy quickly brushes fast food wrappers on the floor, clearing a seat for Sadie. Darren jogs up, reminding Jimmy about the school intake meeting first thing in the morning. Jimmy gives a half-assed salute and drives off.

Jimmy parks crooked in the school parking lot and finishes brushing donut crumbs off his shirt. Sadie's sitting silently in the passenger seat. Inside, they meet Sadie's new 5th grade teacher - Angela Morgan (Melanie Lynskey). She's warm but direct, offering Sadie a smile and welcoming her to the class. Jimmy tries to charm her with a bad joke about skipping 5th grade because he couldn't pass it twice. Angela doesn't laugh, instead asking Jimmy if Sadie has any learning or behavior plans. Jimmy scratches his head, clearly not knowing the answers. He then admits that he's not totally sure what Sadie needs yet, but he's committed to figuring it out. Angela thanks Jimmy for showing up and leads Sadie to her seat.

At home, Jimmy flips through Sadie’s school folder like it’s written in another language. There’s a reading log, a lunch form, and a sheet with a smiley face that says “Important!” in red. He sets it all down and opens a beer. Sadie’s on the couch, doing homework in silence. Jimmy asks if she wants pizza or just some stuff from the freezer that’s been in there since Obama was president. They end up with chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs and a bag of stale pretzels. Jimmy tosses ketchup packets onto her plate like he’s proud. She doesn’t complain, but doesn’t talk either. Later, Jimmy tries to bond by putting on a movie he calls a classic. It’s Road House - Patrick Swayze throwing kicks in a bar while music blares and bodies fly. Jimmy quotes lines before they happen and laughs hard at the throat-ripping scene. Sadie just stares, visibly uncomfortable. After a few minutes, she asks if they can watch something with less punching and nipples. Jimmy grumbles but changes it, mumbling that Swayze was a damn artist. Later, he checks in on her while she’s brushing her teeth. She’s using her finger and hotel toothpaste. Jimmy freezes — he forgot to buy a toothbrush. He offers his, holding it out like a peace treaty. She just closes the door.

Jimmy shows up to Sadie's school fundraiser night, awkward in a wrinkled flannel, clearly unaware there's a business casual expectation. Parents and staff fill the gym. Angela is running the raffle, trying to keep things organized as pleasantly as possible. Jimmy tries to blend in. Principal Fitzgibbons (Chi McBride) asks Jimmy to help draw the raffle numbers. Jimmy makes a joke into the mic about rigging the raffle like the 2020 presidential election that draws some scattered laughter. He accidentally pulls a prize ticket out of the wrong bucket and hands a $100 gift card to a confused kid, sparking a small argument among parents. Angela quickly steps in and takes the mic back. Jimmy slinks off and crushes a juice box like it’s a beer. As the event winds down, Jimmy and Angela cross paths again. He tries to apologize for messing up the raffle. She smirks - it's clear she's both amused and mildly annoyed, which, is practically flirtation.

Later that week, Jimmy tries to make dinner for Sadie - real food, not frozen junk. The sauce explodes, the pasta sticks, and the fire alarm goes off. Sadie helps without being asked, muttering instructions like a tiny Gordon Ramsay. Jimmy listens, then gets overly proud when the spaghetti is even halfway edible. They eat on the couch, watching a cooking show while Jimmy critiques everything - even though he only just learned what al dente means. Sadie laughs for the first time, and Jimmy notices. He tries to ask how school is going, but she shrugs it off. He keeps it light and tells her if she gets straight As, he’ll buy her a PS5 - which she immediately demands in writing. The evening ends with Jimmy tucking her in - not well, but he tries. She lets him. He sits outside her door for a minute after, smiling.

That same night, across town, Angela walks into a small, dim space and locks the door behind her. She changes clothes quickly and efficiently - out of her teacher gear and into sleek, black leather and vinyl. She’s Mistress Andromeda now. Her client waits, eyeing the paddle on the table. Angela’s face is calm, professional. When he stammers about forgetting the usual setup, she cuts him with a flat, practiced tone. The session unfolds with mechanical rhythm. Angela walks him through light punishment and a few lines of dry humiliation, delivered more like observations than insults. When he begins to veer into emotional territory, she pauses and redirects him firmly back toward his punishment - smacking him repeatedly with a paddle. 

Jimmy pulls into the school’s pickup lane, clearly late, honking inappropriately as a crossing guard glares. He’s still wearing his work hoodie, dusted with drywall, and has a soda in one hand and a chicken tender in the other. Sadie climbs into the truck with a groan, muttering that he’s embarrassing her again. Before he can respond, Angela walks by, shepherding a line of students toward the buses. Jimmy tries to act casual but shouts her name a little too loud. Angela turns, clearly reluctant to chat but too polite to ignore him. He tells her thanks for not kicking him out of the PTA thing, then awkwardly asks if teachers get some kind of bonus for dealing with idiots like him. As she walks off, Jimmy calls after her that if she ever needs drywall patched, he’s her guy. Angela keeps walking but tosses a half-smile over her shoulder. In the truck, Sadie groans and tells Jimmy to never flirt again in public. Jimmy shrugs, tells her she’s just jealous he still has it, and nearly rear-ends a minivan as they pull away.

Jimmy’s sitting at the kitchen table, half-dressed, eating microwaved taquitos when the doorbell rings. Jimmy opens the door mid-chew to find Darren, the CPS case worker, who steps inside without waiting. Darren's eyes dart across the living room - laundry on the couch, a broken ceiling fan hanging at an angle, a bottle of Gatorade doubling as an ashtray. Jimmy makes a vague effort to kick a pizza box under the coffee table. Darren explains he’s here for a quick check-in and starts asking about Sadie’s daily routine. Jimmy bullshits through answers, claiming she wakes up at 6AM, reads for fun, and brushes her teeth like a damn dentist. Darren raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it, especially when Sadie wanders into the room wearing pajama pants and eating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Darren gently reminds him that progress will be reviewed soon and that the court wants to see a stable and safe living environment.

Jimmy lounges on the couch, shirtless, eating a lukewarm burrito while a rerun of Cops blares in the background - some shirtless guy on-screen is getting tackled in a Waffle House parking lot while Jimmy eats a gas station burrito. The phone buzzes. It’s Tina. He groans, wipes his hand on his sweatpants, and answers. Tina launches into an erratic, overly upbeat monologue. She swears things are looking up, insisting she’s totally clean. She drops that she’s currently without a place to sleep and just needs a safe landing for a few nights. Jimmy leans his head back, closes his eyes, and mutters that he knew this was coming. He tells her she can crash, but it’s temporary and she better not bring any junkie nonsense into Sadie’s life. Tina brushes it off with vague promises and a mention of how much she misses her daughter. 

A loud, erratic knock rattles Jimmy’s door just past midnight. He opens it groggily, and there stands Tina - hollow-eyed and jittery. She immediately begins rambling about how some counselor at the rehab kept judging her aura. Jimmy cuts her off, asks straight-up how she got out and whether the court signed off on it. Tina deflects. Jimmy narrows his eyes - something’s off. Her pupils are huge, she can’t sit still, and she keeps scratching at her arms. He points this out bluntly. She shrugs it off, jokes that it’s just caffeine. Jimmy doesn’t buy it. Sadie peeks out from her room, sleepy and confused. She sees Tina and stiffens. When she sees the condition her mother is in, Sadie quietly backs into her room and shuts the door. Jimmy sees that and tells Tina she needs to leave right now. When she scoffs, he raises his voice for the first time: if she’s using, and she’s here against court orders, she’s risking his custody and he won’t let that happen. He threatens to call the cops. Tina tries to guilt-trip him, whimpering that she’s got nowhere else. Jimmy doesn't flinch and slams the door behind her.

Jimmy and Lenny stare up at the partially disassembled ceiling fan in the living room. The room is quiet - Sadie's already asleep - and they're trying to keep their voices down while arguing about wiring. Lenny's mostly just  hanging out, occasionally handing Jimmy the wrong screwdriver. To kill time, he pulls out his phone and scrolls a local sexual classifieds thread, chuckling at the weird ads. Lenny gets distracted by a dominatrix ad - it's a masked woman in latex boots and a corset standing next to a guy in a dog collar. Lenny starts chuckling that he found a woman just Jimmy's type for him and shows him the screen. Jimmy gives the phone a glance and freezes. He grabs the phone. There's something familiar about the woman to him. Then it dawns on him - it's Angela. He knows the picture is definitely Sadie's teacher, but he doesn't tell Lenny. The fan wires spark slightly as Jimmy loses his focus. 

Jimmy attends a PTA meeting in the school library. He spots Angela across the room, but struggles to meet her eyes when she greets him. She starts discussing Sadie’s reading scores and a story she wrote about a turtle with depression. Jimmy nods along distractedly - picturing her in her dominatrix outfit from the ad the entire time.

During dinner, Sadie tells Jimmy that a classmate invited her for a sleepover and asks if she can go. Jimmy is thrown and immediately starts rattling off questions - where this girl lives, who her parents are, whether they keep the thermostat at a weird temperature. Sadie assures Jimmy her friend is normal. Jimmy is nervous, so he makes up a fake rule about lava lamps - telling Sadie that it's a red flag if the family owns more than one lava lamp. After Sadie's gone to bed, Jimmy sends Angela a message asking if the classmate's parents seem alright. Angela replies with a friendly thumbs up. 

Jimmy’s watching Sadie attempt to glue googly eyes onto a pinecone for school a school project when there’s a knock. He opens the door to find Darren, clipboard in hand. Darren tells Jimmy that he's not there for another inspection - instead he has news. Tina has officially skipped out on rehab and now has a warrant out for her arrest. Darren then adds that Sadie's clearly thriving under Jimmy's care - happy, showing up to school, eating right - and if Jimmy wants it, he’s ready to recommend full custody. Jimmy is clearly taken aback by the news. Darren tells Jimmy to take some time to think it over, but not too much - Sadie deserves stability.

Later that day, Jimmy drives Sadie out to see Nancy McCabe (Laurie Metcalf) - his mom, who Sadie barely knows. Nancy greets them with a bear hug - warm and loud from the first second. She calls Jimmy her baby the second he walks in the house. Sadie watches with mild amusement as her grandma dotes on Jimmy. Nancy tries hard to not badmouth Tina in front of Sadie, but it’s obvious she’s been burned by her daughter more than once. Jimmy quietly tells Nancy the news from CPS. Nancy tells Jimmy that if he wants to give Sadie a real home, now’s his chance. Sadie plays with Nancy's dog after dinner. Nancy can tell there is something else on Jimmy's mind. He admits that he has a crush on Sadie's teacher - who also just happened to moonlight as a dominatrix. Nancy raises an eyebrow, smirks, and says it’s about damn time he fell for someone interesting. Jimmy grumbles about how weird it is, but Nancy shrugs it off. She reminds him that he's been with worse women.

After school one day, Jimmy lingers outside Angela’s classroom as the hallway clears. Sadie is playing nearby with friends. As Angela exits the classroom, she finds Jimmy. Unsure how else to begin, Jimmy asks to talk about Sadie. Angela instantly shifts into attentive teacher mode, but Jimmy waves it off and awkwardly stammers into his real point: this isn’t about Sadie, it’s about her. He wants to take her out. She starts to respond, but he blurts out that he knows about the dominatrix thing. Her expression freezes. Jimmy immediately clarifies that he doesn’t care - he liked her before he found out. As she lightens up, Jimmy keeps rambling. She offers to go out on a date with him if he'll just stop talking. They agree on a night. As they walk out toward the playground to find Sadie. 

For his first date with Angela, Jimmy pulls up to the restaurant - an old-school Italian place - a little early. He waits in his truck plucking lint off his shirt. When Angela arrives, he gets out to meet her and makes an offhand joke about how he left the ball gag at home. During dinner, when Jimmy asks about her day job, she talks briefly about her students, then turns it around, asking how he ended up working with dry wall. Jimmy shares a halfway sincere story about getting fired from a bowling alley for "unsanctioned fireworks testing" and somehow landing where he is now. Angela admits that she feels comfortable around Jimmy, and he confesses he hasn't dated much lately as he discovered most women don't find guy with niece and drywall hands all that appealing. She smiles and says maybe she’s not most women. As they leave the restaurant, Jimmy hesitates - unsure whether to go for a kiss, a hug, or a dumb joke. Angela solves the dilemma by gently tugging him down by the shirt collar for a kiss that's short, slightly awkward, but genuinely sweet. 

Jimmy stands outside the courthouse with a large manila envelope in his hands - the kind that makes things official. Darren claps him on the back, tells him he’s proud of how far he’s come, and reminds him that CPS rarely recommends full custody to the guy who once called them a bunch of nerd cops with clipboards. 

At Jimmy's apartment later that evening, there are signs of change - albeit a little rough around the edges still: Sadie's school art projects taped to the walls, actual groceries in the fridge, and a half-fixed ceiling fan that's at least no longer threatening to fall. Nancy is in the kitchen making chicken and green bean casserole like she's feeding an army. She barks at Jimmy to grab the good plates. With pride, she comments that it's about time her baby pulled his head out of his ass. Jimmy kisses her cheek and tells her that's the nicest thing she's ever said to him. Angela arrives with a bottle of wine. Lenny shows up with a six-pack of beer and a pie he claims to have baked but still has the price sticker from the grocery store. They all settle in around the cramped dining table. Jimmy makes a quick toast. He thanks them for helping him not totally screw this up.

After dinner, the apartment has gone quiet. Dirty dishes still cover the counter, and the flicker of Cops glows faintly on the TV. Jimmy slouches on the couch, half-watching, half-dozing. Angela cozies up on the couch next to him and rests her head on his shoulder. She asks how he can watch garbage like Cops. Jimmy mutters that he enjoys watching the screw-ups - makes him feel like he's not doing that bad in life by comparison. Angela climbs into his lap and kisses him. She then asks if this is more entertaining than some guy getting arrested for huffing paint behind a 7-Eleven. Jimmy kisses her, then sneaks a glance back at the screen mid-makeout. Angela catches it, swats the back of his head playfully, and calls him hopeless. Jimmy then asks she happened to bring over any outfits from her "other job." Angela narrows her eyes, then - without a word - gets up and disappears into the hallway. Jimmy waits, thinking maybe he crossed a line. But then Angela reappears in the doorway wearing a sharp set of leather lingerie. Jimmy’s jaw drops. He stares at her like he’s seeing the holy grail and mutters that he must be dreaming. He is. In reality, Jimmy and Angela are asleep on the couch. The TV is still on - the Cops theme playing faintly in the background. Sadie pads in from her room, rubbing her eyes. She grabs a glass of water, then pauses when she sees Jimmy and Angela curled up on the couch. Sadie drapes a blanket over them, then quietly disappears back to bed.

Release: Tears of an Angel

 

Tears of an Angel

Genre: Drama/Romance/Fantasy

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Writer: Ben Collins

Cast: Elle Fanning, George MacKay, Stefanie Scott

Budget: $23,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $20,342,945

Foreign Box Office: $37,409,256

Total Profit: $9,903,991

Reaction: Not a very big profit, but considering the subject matter the studio is happy with any profits. It's also a much appreciated box office success for writer Ben Collins who hasn't had one since Season 29.

"Tears of an Angel is beautiful and haunting in its exploration of love and sacrifice. George MacKay gives a touching performance as Ethan, but it is really Elle Fanning who steals the film with her ethereal performance. The film's tone can be a tad too melancholy at times and the pace a little slow, but the bittersweet romance at the film's core makes for a memorable experience." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press

“Tears of an Angel is what happens when Luca Guadagnino watches The Notebook while burning incense and reading Paradise Lost. George MacKay broods, Elle Fanning glows, and the whole thing is so drenched in tragic romance it should come with tissues and a scented candle. The dialogue occasionally gets lost in its own poetry, and yes, we’re doing the fallen-angel-who-loves-a-human thing again—but dang it, when that feather floats at the end, your cold heart might flutter too." - Dave Cone, New York Post

"Tears of an Angel is a lushly melancholic fantasy romance that looks gorgeous but feels emotionally thin. Elle Fanning and George MacKay bring sincerity to a story steeped in supernatural tragedy, yet the script leans heavily on repetition and sentimentality. Guadagnino’s direction gives the film atmosphere — dim bars, glowing alleyways, angelic imagery — but the pacing drags and the dialogue often lapses into melodrama. The result is a visually poetic but narratively stagnant experience: beautiful to look at, hard to feel. Tears of an Angel aims for transcendence, but it mostly hovers somewhere between dream and cliche." - Gregory Fletcher, Los Angeles Time-Journal

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT

 

Actors don’t just light up the screen — they light up the feed. Social Spotlight takes a look at how today’s stars promote their movies through the platforms that matter.

This round we have the link to the latest Youtube video of Full Custody star Shane Gillis' podcast....

Now Showing: Tears of an Angel

 

Tears of an Angel

Genre: Drama/Romance/Fantasy

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Writer: Ben Collins

Cast: Elle Fanning, George MacKay, Stefanie Scott

PLOT: The film opens with a shot of a small, crowded bar in a neighborhood of a big city. The dim lights and the buzz of conversation fill the air as Ethan Jenkins, a talented young man in his thirties, is playing a soft, nostalgic tune on the piano. His expression is focused, his eyes closed, completely immersed in the music. As time passes, it is now late afternoon, and the bar has emptied a bit. Ethan is still at the piano, his music has changed, now more melancholic, almost reflective. In a corner of the bar, an elderly customer sips his drink, watching Ethan with an empathetic look.

At a certain point Ethan gets up from the piano, gathers his things, nods to the owner of the bar, exchanging a smile, and leaves.

Ethan returns home and enters his bedroom, a simple, messy room, with sheets of music scattered on a table and an old record player by the window. A framed photo of his mother sits on a nightstand next to a vase of wilted flowers. Ethan sits on the edge of the bed, looks at his mother's photo with sad eyes and sighs. He gets up and turns on the record player and an old jazz song fills the room as he closes his eyes while he thinks back to his last days with his mother while she was hospitalized.

After a while Ethan gets up and approaches the refrigerator which is practically empty. The boy huffs and leaves the house to go shopping. Ethan walks through the deserted streets of the city lost in thought in a quiet atmosphere among the streetlights. Suddenly, Ethan stops abruptly, hearing a distant melody spreading in the air. He looks around, confused, searching for the source of the music, a sad and angelic melody as if it came from a place out of time. Ethan looks at a dark alley and approaches attracted by the music, as he walks the melody becomes clearer and clearer.

Suddenly, at the end of the alley under the dim light a female figure dressed in white appears. The girl is singing, her voice is sweet and full of sadness while her dark hair frames a pale and delicate face with her eyes seeming to shine. Ethan remains watching her for a few seconds before slowly approaching trying not to make noise, almost afraid of interrupting that moment. As he approaches, the girl notices him and looks at him with an expression between surprised and happy but does not stop singing. Their connection is immediate and intense as if they had known each other forever. When Ethan is a few steps away from her, Elena suddenly stops singing and in an instant disappears as if dissolving into the air. Ethan remains still and confused as he looks around the empty alley but there is no one there except him except for a faint echo that seems to say "Elena" that quickly fades away. Ethan remains there for a few moments listening to the silence and slowly walks away shaking his head coming to think that it had all been a game of his mind.

From that moment on, Ethan returns to the alley every night, driven by the desire to see Elena again. Each time, the alley appears the same, immersed in darkness and lit only by the faint light of a street lamp. Ethan approaches cautiously, hoping to hear the melody that captured him the first time. After a few moments of waiting, he hears Elena's voice singing again, sweet and melancholic. Ethan always finds her in the same spot, under the street lamp with her white dress and her eyes that shine in the dark. Every night, as she sings, he tries to get closer, attracted by her mysterious presence. However, every time he takes a step towards her, Elena disappears, vanishing into the darkness. Ethan's frustration and curiosity grow each time as he can't get Elena's voice and face out of his mind.

One night, however, something changes. Ethan enters the alley with the same caution as always. Elena is there, like every time, but this time, when Ethan approaches, she doesn't disappear but instead remains there still observing him. Ethan stops a few steps away from her, unsure of what to expect. Elena continues to look at him, with an expression of sadness mixed with curiosity as Ethan sits on an old wall in the alley and Elena follows him. They sit next to each other while exchanging a few words. Elena doesn't reveal much about herself but her presence itself is a mystery that Ethan absolutely wants to unravel. They spend time together, simply enjoying each other's company, and slowly, Ethan senses that behind Elena's silence there is a past pain.

During one of their subsequent meetings, the atmosphere between Ethan and Elena has become more intimate and confidential. Ethan feels that the time has come to understand more about who this mysterious girl really is. Elena senses Ethan's curiosity and desire to know more about her. She begins to speak with a tone of voice that reflects an ancient and deep pain. Her story is shocking and heartbreaking: she says she is a fallen angel, punished for falling in love with a human centuries before. She tells how the love she had felt was forbidden, and as punishment her wings were taken away, forcing her to wander the Earth, invisible to most. Her words are full of emotion, and as she speaks, Ethan doesn't know what to think, on the one hand he believes he feels the weight of loneliness and regret that she carries inside her.

Ethan is shocked by the revelation because he would never have imagined that behind that beauty and that voice there was such a supernatural and tragic story. Ethan notices a tear falling on her cheek and with a finger he removes it, causing a gasp and a half smile from her. Elena continues, explaining the power of her tears: they can heal and give life back but every time she cries, a part of her essence vanishes, bringing her closer to death. It is a power that carries a curse, as each tear makes her less angelic and more human, leading her towards an unknown fate. Ethan listens attentively, deeply moved. He understands that Elena's pain is not only the pain of loneliness, but also that of sacrifice. Ethan feels the need to protect her and be by her side, despite the impossibility of fully understanding her angelic nature. The scene ends with Ethan and Elena sitting side by side in the alley while they rest their heads gently on each other.

Ethan plays the piano in his apartment, the music is sweet, melancholic as his thoughts fly to imagine the girl listening smiling while sitting on a chair near the window. The soft light of the lamp illuminates her face, highlighting her serene and attentive expression. Elena listens to the music with a small smile on her lips, clearly touched by Ethan's dedication and talent. Ethan stops playing and turns to Elena seeing that there is no one there, that at that moment it was only his imagination.

Ethan and Elena walk slowly along a tree-lined path in a city park. It is a rare moment of daylight for them, a chance to experience a semblance of normality. Ethan holds a guitar in his hand, ready to play. They find a quiet spot under a tree and sit on the grass. Ethan looks around waiting for no one to be there since almost no one can see Elena and then begins to play a simple melody, looking Elena in the eyes. She closes her eyes, letting the music lull her. The connection between them is palpable and emotional. Ethan sings a song he wrote for her, the words full of love and sweet pain, inspired by the story he has learned about her and the feeling he feels. Elena opens her eyes and looks at Ethan, her eyes moist and slightly wet with emotion as she holds back tears.

Ethan plays the piano in the bar where he works. Among the few customers, Elena sits in a dark corner, watching him. Ethan looks at her every now and then, finding comfort in her presence. The two exchange glances of understanding and affection. Afterwards Ethan and Elena walk side by side, hand in hand. The streets are almost deserted, lit by streetlights. They laugh together, enjoying each other's company, even though they are both aware of the shadow of uncertainty hanging over their relationship.

When they return home he can't sleep. At dawn he gets up and goes out. Ethan is sitting at a table in a large library. In front of him are several open books, each with pages that deal with legends of fallen angels. Ethan leafs through the books, visibly focused. He has a notebook nearby and takes notes as he reads. The images in the books show illustrations of angels with severed wings, tragic figures fallen from the sky. Ethan stops at a page that describes the tears of fallen angels: it says that they have the power to heal, but at a great cost, as Elena had told him a few days ago. Ethan thinks back to that tear that fell from Elena's eyes. The scene alternates between the present, with Ethan reading and his moments spent with Elena. The camera focuses on the bright tear that runs down Elena's cheek.

Hours later, Ethan is sitting at the table, surrounded by books he brought from the library. He continues reading, determined to understand Elena better. He finds a passage that talks about an angel losing their divine essence with every tear they shed, bringing them closer to mortality. Ethan stops, visibly worried and upset. He realizes the sacrifice Elena is making every time she cries and understands how fragile their love is.

Then, Ethan returns to the alley, visibly nervous. He finds Elena waiting for him like every night and when their eyes meet there is a palpable tension in the air. Ethan looks at Elena with a new understanding, his heart heavy with the pain he knows she has endured over the centuries. He can't hide the emotion in his eyes as he watches her, and Elena seems to sense that something has changed. Ethan gently takes Elena's hand, feeling the need to protect her. His desire to be with her is now accompanied by a sense of urgency and responsibility, knowing how precious and fragile her angelic nature is.

Ethan and Elena walk side by side on a dimly lit street, talking in hushed tones and laughing every now and then, their complicity evident. Elena looks around for a moment as if she senses an uneasiness in the air. Suddenly, two figures emerge from the shadows. They are men with hoods up and with a menacing look. One of them pulls out a knife and orders Ethan to hand over his wallet. Ethan is taken aback as he tries to remain calm, raising his hands in surrender. One of the men steps forward and tries to grab him, in a moment of confusion, Ethan tries to defend himself, pushing the robber away. This triggers a violent reaction: the man with the knife stabs Ethan in the side repeatedly. Elena watches the scene in horror, visibly unable to intervene, but as soon as the knife hits Ethan, she lunges forward, hitting the robber with supernatural strength. The man is thrown away, as if struck by an invisible wind. The other robber, frightened, runs away. Ethan collapses to the ground, blood begins to flow from the wound, forming a puddle around him. Elena kneels beside him, shocked. Her hands are shaking as she tries to stop the bleeding with her hands. Ethan is still conscious but his breathing is labored. Without thinking for a moment, Elena begins to bite her hand violently until tears form in her eyes that begin to fall on Ethan's wound but the situation does not improve. Elena's thoughts make it clear that tears of pain do not work like tears of love. Meanwhile, some passers-by, attracted by the noise, approach and see Ethan lying on the ground, seriously injured. They call an ambulance, while others try to help, but Elena, invisible to them, remains slumped over Ethan, unable to do anything but watch over him. The ambulance arrives quickly, the paramedics jump out and rush to Ethan. They don't see Elena, who stays by his side, one hand on Ethan's chest. The paramedics start working on Ethan, trying to stabilize him, commenting that his condition is critical. Elena looks at Ethan's face, desperate, as they load him into the ambulance. Without thinking twice, she climbs in too, passing unnoticed by the paramedics. She sits next to him, her hands shaking as she feels Ethan's heart slow under the touch of her fingers while Ethan's face Ethan's face is pale, almost lifeless. Elena screams in despair as she tries her best to cry.

Ethan is rushed to the operating room. Elena, invisible to the doctors and nurses, follows his body and remains petrified for hours watching what happens as the surgeons work to save Ethan.

Elena walks out of Ethan’s room and leans against the door. A little further ahead, a group of people are gathered near a row of chairs. They are Ethan’s few trusted friends, with tense and worried expressions. Among them, Alice (STEFANIE SCOTT) stands, her face streaked with tears and her eyes red, as she leans on the shoulder of another girl who comforts her. Alice sobs, her voice breaking with anguish. Alice, between sobs, speaks with a trembling voice. Her words are muffled by pain, but you can clearly feel how much Ethan means to her. From her words you can guess that she has been in love with Ethan since they were kids and that even though he once declared his love to her, she rejected him without knowing why and then they remained friends. Alice’s emotions resonate in her heart, making her understand how much Ethan was loved and desired. Elena suddenly feels vulnerable, aware of the fragility of their love, of the fact that Ethan has a past that she doesn't fully know. She slowly approaches the group, trying not to be noticed, but she can't help but stare at Alice, who continues to cry desperately. In a moment of pure emotion, Alice looks up, and for a moment, her eyes seem to meet Elena's. It's a very brief moment in which it seems that Alice actually sees Elena. The moment passes and Alice goes back to bowing her head, the eye contact is broken. Elena pulls back, confused and a little shaken. Her mind is in turmoil: maybe Alice's bond with Ethan is stronger and maybe they are meant to be together. Elena slowly moves away from the group and goes back into the room.

At the end of the delicate operation Elena looks at Ethan, his face pale and still, the rhythmic and weak sound of the heart monitor fills the room. Despair and anger pervade her feeling the weight of her impotence. She leaves the room where there are the few trusted friends that Ethan who are in the corridor worried. Among them a pretty girl Alice (SOPHIE SKELTON) is crying desperately in the arms of another girl. From her words you can guess that she had been in love with Ethan since they were kids and that even though he had once declared himself to her, she had rejected him without knowing why and they remained friends.

Alice leans over Ethan with her hands that gently caress Ethan's face. She gets close to his ear whispering words of comfort and affection, words that come directly from her heart. As she does so, she feels a lump in her throat as emotions begin to overwhelm her. The first tears fill her eyes, escaping down her cheeks and falling on Ethan's wounds. These tears shine slightly, like drops of light, when they touch her skin. Ethan, though unconscious, seems to react slightly, his body relaxing. Elena continues to cry, each tear that falls on Ethan seems to take away a piece of her own energy. She feels her strength abandoning her, her body becoming weaker and weaker. She holds on to the bed to maintain her balance, but she doesn't stop crying. Her face becomes even paler, almost translucent, as she continues to donate what remains of her angelic essence to save Ethan.

The machines begin to show slight signs of improvement in Ethan's vital signs. Elena, exhausted, smiles weakly, knowing that her sacrifice was not in vain. Elena collapses on Ethan, exhausted, feeling the life slipping away from her. She knows that she has done her duty, that love has prevailed, even at the cost of her immortality.

Elena moves away from Ethan's bed, she doesn't want him to see her like that, fragile and exhausted, so she decides to leave the room before Ethan wakes up. She approaches the door, staggering slightly, her vision blurry and her legs shaking from the loss of energy. Ethan's friends are still there worried in the hallway. Alice is sitting on one of the plastic chairs, her gaze fixed on the ground, still shocked and she doesn't see Elena pass by her. Elena moves slowly, trying to keep her balance, Alice raises her head as if she had perceived something, her gaze falls on Elena's figure, blurry and trembling. Alice is confused, as she sees Elena stagger and then disappear around the corner of the hallway. She would like to say something, but at that moment, a doctor comes out of Ethan's room saying that as if by miracle Ethan is recovering. Relief pervades the group, and Alice stands up suddenly, forgetting for a moment the figure she saw moments before. As her friends rush to Ethan's room, Alice turns to look at the empty hallway.

Her friends surround Ethan, expressing relief and happiness that he's recovered. Ethan, weak as he is, tries to thank them, but his mind is fuzzy, as if something is missing, something he doesn't remember. After a few minutes, his friends leave the room to get something to eat, leaving Ethan alone with Alice. His gaze wanders around the room and out the window, looking for a detail that escapes him. Then he notices something: a small white duvet on the pillow next to his head. He takes it in his fingers, looks at it, and suddenly a wave of memories overwhelms him. He relives every moment with Elena, their nightly walks, her ethereal voice, and when she saved him with her tears, even though he was still practically unconscious. In an instant, Ethan relives the last days with Elena, her otherworldly beauty, her voice that sang celestial melodies. He sees the alley where he first met her and feels the same sense of wonder and mystery. The images follow one another quickly: Elena smiling at him, their deep connection, the touch of her hands and the warmth of her tears. He turns to Alice and even though he knows that her story seems impossible, but the memory is too vivid to be a dream. He decides to tell her everything.

Alice listens to him, surprised and incredulous. However, a look of awareness crosses her face as she thinks back to what she saw in the hallway and says that she thinks she saw her in the hallway too and that she seemed to be in a lot of pain. Despite his weakness he tries to get out of bed, but his muscles are still too weak to support him. Alice comes over to help him with the wheelchair while he asks if she can accompany him to look for the angel because he wants to thank her and say goodbye perhaps for the last time.

Ethan and Alice search for Elena everywhere in the city, retracing the places where she and Ethan had been together, including the alley where they had first met. After hours of searching, Ethan suddenly stops, realizing that they had returned to the alley where he had met Elena for the first time and that they had already been there. Ethan seems to lose hope, but this time Alice notices that Elena is there, curled up behind a dumpster, and orders Ethan, who is almost frozen by that vision, to go to her. Elena's thin, transparent body seems to be about to vanish in

Ethan slowly approaches, his eyes fixed on her. When Elena sees him, she tries to hide, to move away, but her strength is now exhausted. As she tries to move, she loses her balance and falls into Ethan's arms. Elena raises her hands, trying to cover her face, to hide her weakness, but Ethan grabs her wrists gently, lowering her hands. He looks into her eyes, filled with sadness and love. Elena smiles sadly, knowing her time is running out. She feels torn, wanting to stay with him but knowing her fate is sealed. At that moment Elena closes her eyes singing the tune she sang when they first met and a single tear rolls down her cheek sparkling like a diamond. The tear falls on Ethan's hand, and a soft glow fills the air around them. Elena looks at Ethan one last time thanking him for making these last few days feel like two centuries. A moment later, Elena dissolves into a brilliant light leaving behind only a small white feather floating in the air. He picks up the feather and holds it to his chest knowing that Elena is still with him, somehow.

It's been a while. Ethan and Alice walk side by side as the city is covered in snow and Christmas lights adorn the streets. Ethan wears a pendant around his neck, a small transparent case that holds the white feather left by Elena. Every now and then his hand rises to touch her, an instinctive gesture of an instant to feel her close to his heart.

A light melody spreads in the air, reminiscent of the one Elena sang, while the credits begin to roll.