Light of My Life (2019)

Directed by: Casey Affleck | 119 minutes | thriller | Actors: Anna Pniowsky, Casey Affleck, Tom Bower, Elisabeth Moss, Hrothgar Mathews, Timothy Webber, Thelonius Serrell-Freed, Jesse James Pierce, Tommy Clarke, Lloyd Cunningham, Kory Grim, Michael Ching, Dee Jay Jackson, Patrick Keating, Sydnee Parker Anderson

Looking for trends in early 21st-century film, you will inevitably encounter dystopias and social isolation. Dramas such as ‘Children of Men’ and ‘The Road’, about life after global catastrophes, fit into the first category. The second category includes wonderful films such as ‘Captain Fantastic’ and ‘Leave No Trace’, both about parents who retire to the woods with their offspring. And then we have films that combine the two trends, such as the exciting ‘A Quiet Place’.

The American drama ‘Light of My Life’ also has a combination of these themes. Since a pandemic has killed half the world’s population, a widower and his young daughter roam through rugged woods. Every now and then they visit a town to buy some food or to snatch a book from the dilapidated library. Other than that, they don’t do much except be alert for danger and practice for emergencies. But what are they actually afraid of and why are they on the run?

We will not reveal the answer to those questions, but as a viewer you will find out fairly quickly. The film’s greatest asset lies in the alternation of drama and suspense. The drama comes from the fragile relationship between father and daughter. Daughter Rag is 11 and wants to spread her own wings, the father wants nothing more than to protect her. In terms of tension, it is less complicated: every stranger embodies a possible threat.

In ‘Light of My Life’ we see a lot of the aforementioned films. The menace from ‘The Road’ and ‘A Quiet Place’ (but without aliens), the suffocating love between father and daughter from ‘Leave No Trace’ and the survival exercises from ‘Captain Fantastic’. Unfortunately, ‘Light of My Life’ is too repetitive and very slow. For example, the film begins with a 10-minute scene in which the father tells a story to his daughter. A nice story, but still.

With half an hour less ‘Light of My Life’ had become even stronger. Yet we enjoy the atmospheric images, the strong acting and the many tender scenes between father and daughter. And we brace ourselves when things get tense and our heroes are in danger. Whatever we want to say: ‘Light of My Life’ fits perfectly between those beautiful titles from the first paragraph.