“I don’t wanna die, I just wanna make another film”
My Hindu Friend (2020) tells the tale of Diego Fairman who, a film director, has life threatening cancer and must prepare for death, but if he does survive how will he adapt to living his life again normally.
Written & Directed by the late Hector Babenco, it’s a haunting yet poetically beautiful film on life and death. My Hindu Friend was the last film crafted and created by Hector Babenco who sadly passed away to a heart attack on the 13th July 2016, delaying the films initial release 4 years later.
The Film....
Following Diego through the process we come across a little Hindu boy who too is going through the same treatment and process. Helping him through the process, it’s an escape for Diego to help him forgot about the treatment too, both bonding and becoming really good friends. He helps the little lad throughout the whole process and tells him story’s through his visions for films he wants to make in the future, which is a really touching moment.
It’s a really hard hitting film that’s been executed perfectly, describing & showing the audience what it’s like to go through the treatment of cancer. It’s certainly a film that will please many Babenco fans as well as bringing in a new audience to his filmography. It’s a slow paced film that doesn’t at all feel slow, with an award winning performance put in by William Defoe (The Lighthouse, The Grand Budapest Hotel).
In someways it’s a celebration of life and being honest to yourself about what makes life worth living for and living it to it’s full potential. It’s how we as humans each have our own little individual things we do that creates each person‘s life and how we all live differently. It’s a film that’s from the heart of Hector Babenco and what life means to him, especially his love of cinema.
The ending moments of the film for me, especially the dance sequence, was one of the best scenes in a film I’ve ever witnessed. Its very touching and sums up the theme of the film perfectly.
The Cast....
William Defoe is underrated and should 100% win an award for his performance as Diego as he puts in a harrowing and heartfelt performance.
This I believe for Defoe was a very special character as it was heavily based on Hector himself and I feel Defoe wanted to fulfil and pay respect to the legendary Brazilian director in his last film. I’ve seen Defoe in quite a few films now but for me this is his defining role to date, even if it has been delayed 4 years later.
To Conclude....
My Hindu Friend (2020) is a thoughtfully honest exploration of life, death and cinema with an award winning performance from William Defoe that is a touching and pognant tribute to the films director Hector Babenco.
The film had a limited weeklong theatrical release in NY, LA, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston, Minneapolis, ATL, Phoenix, Houston and Chicago.
The Film is now available to rent/purchase digitally on Amazon, iTunes, inDemand, DirecTV, Vudu, Google Play, FANDANGO, Vimeo on Demand, FlixFing, Hoopla, AT&T, Xbox, Sony & Sling/Dish.
Thank you to TriCoast Entertainment Studios for allowing me to watch and review this film, it really was one of the best films I’ve viewed in a long time. Make sure you follow TriCoast Entertainment Studios on all social media platforms.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5