"Modra," a sweet story of coming of age, but for me it was something a little more.
A Canadian high school girl takes a summertime trip to Slovakia to visit relatives. Her boyfriend bows out at the last minute, and she winds up inviting a boy she hardly knows to accompany her. In Slovakia, the two discover a sweetness to life that they had not known as they also discover themselves.
For me, this film had a special touch in that my grandparents immigrated from Slovakia before WW I. They had been from a town called "Modra." The film takes place in Modra near Bratislava; my relatives were from a different Modra in far eastern Slovakia.
Nonetheless, while watching this film, I identified with the young protagonist. I felt as if I myself were on a trip as a young person to visit the home of my forebearers, discovering the beauty of the land, the closeness of community and the evolution of my own emotional and physical being.
It is not "Star Wars" or "Avatar," but it is a beautiful and sweet story that had this old man in tears.
