Familiar Touch Trailer: Sarah Friedland’s Acclaimed Directorial Debut Arrives This June

One of the best first features in recent memory, Sarah Friedland’s wonderfully gentle Familiar Touch premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it picked up Best Director, Best Actress, and Best First Film in the Orizzonti section. After opening New Directors/New Films, the drama (starring Kathleen Chalfant, Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen, and H. Jon Benjamin) will now begin a theatrical run on June 20, and Music Box Films has unveiled the first trailer.

Here’s the synopsis: “Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), a retired cook, prepares breakfast in her sunny and cozy kitchen — a dish she seems to have made many times before, although small and puzzling errors now punctuate her comfortable routine. When her son (H. Jon Benjamin) arrives to dine with her, she mistakes him for a suitor. Their ‘date’ takes them to an assisted living facility, which Ruth does not remember that she had previously selected for herself. Among her fellow memory care residents, Ruth feels lost and adrift, certain she has found herself somewhere she does not belong. As she slowly begins to accept the warmth and support of care workers Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle) and Brian (Andy McQueen), she finds new ways to ground herself in her body, even as her mind embarks on a journey all its own. Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s coming-of-old-age feature compassionately follows the winding path of octogenarian Ruth’s shifting memories and desires while remaining rooted in her sage perspective.”

Rory O’Connor said in his review, “It’s a wonderfully gentle piece of filmmaking––something of a low-key triumph that offers a novel perspective on a topic that had become, if not entirely worn out, at least clichéd. Friedland’s deceptively complex approach is to tell Ruth’s story from her perspective instead of a loved one’s, and without ever fully revealing what’s happening in there. The film features no lengthy monologues and is sparing with its character’s suffering––at least not beyond the realities of her situation. The experiences we witness in Villa Gardens are largely pleasant: finding some agency by helping out in the kitchen, allowing herself some playful moments in her check-ups with Brian, and making a genuine connection with Vanessa. Even in her most difficult moments, Familiar Touch stays rooted on her side, allowing Ruth to rally with dignity when despair seems the more likely outcome. All of this is filmed (by Friedland’s regular collaborator Gabe Elder) with an intimacy that never feels intrusive or merely observational.”

See the trailer below: