Foreign Letters

Friendship And The Wonders Of America: Coming Of Age In A New Land
"Foreign Letters" is a surprisingly simple story of friendship that really captures the way people from different backgrounds can grow so vital to one another. Although the central characters are each facing an American childhood filtered through unique immigrant experiences, the film really has such a universal appeal. Telling the tale of young Ellie, a recent transplant from Israel, and her best pal Thuy, a refugee from Vietnam, the girls initially bond because they're both outsiders in the same suburban school. Autobiographical by nature, filmmaker Ela Thier really understands how kids interact with one another. Alternating between slavish devotion to instant betrayal, it's not always an easy road with your best friend. But there is such a purity of emotion, the bonds formed can be lifelong. And indeed, that is the case here as the plot is largely taken from Thier's own life journey and she has also taken on the role of Ellie's mother in the film. The movie even ends with...

gorgeous and rich film!!
Childhood is both heartbreaking and breathtaking. With extraordinary craft and soul, not to mention massive talent, Ela Thier unfolds before us this complex world through the friendship between two "outsider" girls in 1980s Connecticut. The nuances of a classroom, a cafeteria, a walk in the forest, a dance on a roof, dinnertime in two different kitchens, and an ice skating rink filled with boys - all illuminate without one wasted gesture or world the universe these two young friends navigate.

I had not realized, until watching Foreign Letters, how the story of childhood friendship so rarely gets told unless something is being blown up. But Foreign Letters proves that the story of love between friends, unfolding without special effects, is the real action adventure.

Cute story
The main character acted well. Low budget but the story is sweet, in fact it is based on the writers childhood.

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