The Ballad of Wallis Island

When I saw the trailer for this movie I knew it was going to be one of those quieter films that I tend to love a lot. The fact that the core cast were also the executive producers also made me excited because that means that everyone involved really believed in and cared about the story and that is normally a sign of a well crafted film. So I knew it was on my must-watch list.

We open immediately in the action, this singer arrives at the island that he has been hired to perform at. Stories that take place somewhere isolated and away from everything provide the most beautiful cinematography. Aesthetically, because of their locations, this film immediately feels like Banshees of Inisherin which I loved. It feels cozy and warm and wide and wondrous at the same time. I love it because the landscape and the gorgeous scenery is always in direct contrast with the small town stories that occupy the space and it really gives the audience the best of both worlds.

This man is so sweet, Charles loves this artist so much that he knows all his favorite things and he has them for him upon arrival. Like a normal rider in artist contracts, that's so cute. There are some great comedy moments happening, the pay phone scene was great. And then the realization that this man paid his favorite musician to come to a remote island and perform for just himself is hilarious.

Charles won the lottery twice, the first one he got to spend with his wife and the second one he has to spend without her.

Ooof the tension between these old partners is so well written, from this first conflict it's already very clear that they have two wildly different perspectives on what broke them up. But Chris is clearly very very hurt and still broken by whatever happened between them.

The small town quirkiness is very cute, I love that this shopowner has literally nothing. And they’ve never heard of things like peanut butter cups and sticking electronics and rice.

In addition to being just beautifully shot and tightly written, it also has some truly gorgeous folk music that just really helps tie this movie together.

The fact that both of these musicians are trying to hook up Charles with this shopkeeper is so funny. Nell and Chris really have a lot of history and when you remove her husband from the situation (great writing decision by the way) it's clear why they were great partners in the first place. Then they have a talk about the current state of their partnership. For him their music and their relationship are inexplicably intertwined, he can not separate them. And she, pregnant with her new husband, misses making music.

Nell leaves the island without doing the gig, and Chris is forced to let go of this love that he has for her and their partnership. Her husband is kind of a tool, there was literally no reason for the way that he spoke to Herb before he left.

Chris does the gig anyway after getting the shopkeeper to join Charles. I love that this isn’t a romantic comedy, the happy ending you get isn’t necessarily the one that you would expect. Chris and Nell do not get back together, they don’t even play the gig together and end as friends. Chris is forced to move on and play their music by himself. Charles is forced to grieve through this performance and they both finally let their women go. It's beautiful, it's heartbreaking but it's real.

I love quiet movies, they are always my favorite because they speak to something so real. And they somehow manage to simultaneously give us profound themes of love and grief as well as just day to day interactions and conflicts that we all experience. It was truly a beautiful film and I will be a little salty if it's not on the Oscars list. A perfect 10/10.