CROWS

CROWS is an achingly beautiful and realistic portrait of a spirited nine-year-old girl who manages to make the best of her meager existence. Physically and emotionally abandoned by her working mother, she seems to have accepted neglect and isolation as basic life conditions, even as allies, that guard the boundaries of her self-made world. And what a world that is. The moment this nameless urchin steps into the frame, the cold and bleak city comes to life. Always in motion, she manipulates strangers with ease as if they came from a separate, faded civilization. Her endless adventures mask her urgent search for a family she can relate to. Without hesitation, she breaks into a young couple's home and “adopts” their three-year-old daughter. Her prisoner seems more than happy to come along when she learns that they are running away to the end of the world, a place where true happiness exists. The girls form a mysterious bond during a day-long odyssey from city to sea. Upon arriving at the end of the world, we see that, indeed, it is all that it is crackedup to be. Until the sun goes down . . . – Nortel Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival