Eco Village

Seeking inspiration away from the tedium of her bedroom life, young songwriter Robyn (a terrific Sidney Flanigan) runs away and joins a farming commune in upstate New York. There, she meets the village handyman Jake, who comes to the rescue when this city-girl is bitten by a tick. Handsome but tormented, Jake becomes the focus of her intense love. Together they quickly upset the equilibrium of the eco-village ecosystem, a maelstrom of shifting power, manipulation, friendship and lust, all under the watchful eye of village founder Ursula. Events unfold in a sometimes drug-addled frenzy, culminating in an unexpected catastrophic incident straight out of a midnight movie. Throughout these uncertain alliances and games, music remains Robyn’s salvation and ultimately her transcendence, as it was in her bedroom, but here even more so, like some sort of folk-operatic Gen-Z Wizard of Oz. Music functions not only as subject but informs the structure of the film, like Greek chorus, no doubt inspired by filmmaker Phoebe Nir’s background in musical theatre. The result is an original and spirited take on the coming of age genre, one that also explores the costs of utopia. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)