Indie Spotlight- God Forgive Us

In an ongoing effort to help aspiring filmmakers and promote independent films, particularly those struggling with distribution and releases, we periodically feature films in our “Indie Spotlight” series for your consideration.

God Forgive Us (2014) (English Language)

90min

Country:   USA

Genre:      Drama

Director:   Michael Bachochin

Cast:        Lindsay Rathert, Matthew Urban, James R. Doherty…more

Writer:     Michael Bachochin

-Synopsis-

During an unforgiving winter in the American Midwest; the disparate lives of four people become intertwined as they struggle with grief, hopelessness and life purpose in this reflective, small-budget, award-winning Indie drama from writer/director Michael Bachochin.

For his feature length debut and recent “Best Screenplay” winner at the Frame by Sound Festival; writer/director/producer Bachochin crafts a stark human melodrama which focuses on the extreme elements of the human condition which many have to deal with in today’s society.

Touching on themes of loss, abuse, substance dependency, psychological trauma and general existential musing about the very meaning of life; Bachochin tries to capture an emotional tapestry which echoes throughout society, wherever you sit on the totem pole, while placing it into a gut-wrenching narrative about the suffering of four real, everyday Americans.

‘God Forgive Us’ revolves around the interconnected lives of four very different people; a priest in an existential crisis of conscience after a devastating medical prognosis, a young addict balancing prostitution with an abusive boyfriend/pimp, an absent father drowning in guilt and broken by the death of his young daughter, and a young suicidal man struggling with purpose in life and haunted by a legacy of abandonment and neglect.

Residing at the top end of the micro-budget bracket, Bachochin has multiple ingredients to play with, without forgetting of course that this is still a small budget Indie debut. ‘God Forgive Us’  is well shot and makes particularly good use of the snow-covered streets of Illinois and Wisconsin, where Bachochin is from and based.

The film also benefits from an evocative score from Aaron Gilhuis, genrally sombre and mellancholly while occasionally breaking into a tense thriller crescendo. The four lead actors of course play their parts in nailing the drama down, with Lindsay Rathert as troubled young addict and sex-worker “Millie”, and James R. Doherty as the suicidal young “Dane” particularly shining.

Michael Bachochin has put together a powerful little melodrama for his feature length debut and one which packs a punch; a reflective cinematic psychological profile of normal people struggling to deal with the hand that life has dealt them, and an existential piece about who or what people turn to in their darkest hour,  which makes us curious to see what’s next for this up-and-coming filmmaker.

‘God Forgive Us’ trailer

Watch ‘God Forgive Us’  on Vimeo on Demand here.

Check out ‘God Forgive Us’  and other award winners at the Frame By Sound festival, courtesy of Vents Magazine here.

You can also check out ‘God Forgive Us’  on Facebook here and on their site here.

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