FORGETTING CAROLINE | Omeleto
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- A man says goodbye to his stepdaughter.
FORGETTING CAROLINE is used with permission from Alexis Duran. Learn more at alexisduran.me.
Michael, his partner Silvia and his stepdaughter Caroline are headed to the airport. Michael is leaving for work, but he's also going for good. He and Silvia are breaking up, and it's a hard situation for everyone. It's especially difficult for young Caroline, who doesn't quite understand why her beloved stepfather has to go.
As the once-close family navigates this transition, Michael reflects on his memories of his time with Caroline while also sifting through the incidents, conversations and events that led to his decision to leave, one made more difficult by the love for his stepdaughter.
Directed and written by Alexis Duran, this heartfelt, resonant short drama threads the emotional journey of a man who fell in love with a single mother, grew to love his stepdaughter and must now say goodbye and grieve the family unit they had become. Toggling between past and present and told with a clear, straightforward visual simplicity, the storytelling is anchored in Michael's perspective. But with its close attention to the bond between him and his stepdaughter Caroline, it also develops an emotional richness that chronicles how Michael finds a family and how it comes apart.
Though the film moves back and forth in time, the narrative has a striking emotional clarity, built on a steady foundation of solid writing. Michael is the main character, but Caroline is the steady beating heart of the film, and we watch her attachment to Michael grow in the flashbacks, which are rendered with tremendous warmth and affection. She and Michael come to have a strong parental-type relationship, and she comes to adore him. It makes her growing distress at Michael's departure in the present all the more understandable.
Michael's departure is also traced with compassionate clarity, as he feels an inadequacy as a stepfather. As Michael, actor Adrian Quinonez has a warm, sturdy presence, making his bond with young performer Amani Solorio as Caroline all the more lived-in and believable. Quinonez deftly portrays how being a paternal presence in Caroline's life enriches him, but he also captures how deeply Michael wants to be a father to a child of his own. The film acknowledges the gap between his role and his desires with empathy. But when those desires don't align with those of Caroline's mother, it means that the found family unit comes to an end.
Honest and affecting, FORGETTING CAROLINE ends with a section picking up with Michael well after his breakup with Silvia. We see he's become a father with a close, loving relationship to his son. But it ends with a reunion and a recognition -- of the love that helped him become the father he is today, the grief when that relationship ended and the sorrow of the child who felt the loss most sharply.
This one hits home. I am this guy in real life. I love my step-daughter with everything I have, but no matter what I do I am always second class to her 99% absentee shitbag father. She idolizes him, gives him massive amounts of praise (for doing literally nothing) and he’s practically a ghost. He doesn’t even get her birthday or Christmas presents. He just calls, lies about everything and that he sent them through the mail and then lies again that the post office lost them when they never arrive…year after year. I’ve been the dude in this video for 14 years, man. I’ve been here every single day of her life since she was 2, telling her how amazing she is, doing the daddy/daughter thing, never missing a single anything she was ever a part of (plays, choir, you name it) and yet it feels like I’m always battling a ghost. She’s even told me to my face that she could never care about as much as him because I’m not her real dad. Yeah, ouch. So, yeah, I get it why he maybe gave up and wanted to run and find something real that he didn’t have to fight so hard for. It’s SO hard and painful being that guy…it really is….but I’m still here and maybe one day she’ll realize that I’m the guy that truly loves her, never left her, and never will. I know I know…what a sucker.
Wow. Thats really tough man. You seem like Ana amazing person. But also consider sometimes kids crave the love of the parents who won’t give them attention. Just keep doing gods work, just keep doing the right thing will be its rewards. And I’m sure the kid will appreciate you in her 30s.
You are NOT a sucker!! This is unfortunately a rather common situation in patch work families with an absent and irresponsible parent. It’s just too hard for kids l, they escape into a dreamworld where everything is okay with this parent and fight tooth and nail to protect this illusion. You need to be older, a young adult to acknowledge the sad truth about your parent. I’m pretty sure though that as soon as your daughter (by heart) is old enough she will realize that you were her dad by heart all along and then can let go of an illusionary dream. Maybe it could be a consolation for you that you, with your love and commitment, are crucial to help her to become a strong grown up woman who has the means to face the reality without breaking down.
You are doing the right thing👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼and admitting that it’s hard and painful is not a sign of weakness but strength! Stay strong!💪🏼🤗
So sorry to hear.
Bless you and if you can keep up the good fight keeping doing so. It is going to take her until maturity to realize how much you’ve been there for her through all the happy and tough times and trust me they’ll get tougher. My daughter is going through the same thing and will not fully embrace her stepfather and states she knows he loves her and is a good man but doesn’t understand why her dad couldn’t be like that. Just as the other person stated she longing for the attention and love from the one person that should naturally give it. Rejection is hard and especially when it happens to someone so young. Sometimes therapy helps as well, it helped my kiddo but she is still struggling when she hits milestones and her bday. Good luck and thanks for being a great person we all need those
I used to keep thinking the womans would come around through their own logic/reason and accountability too, they won't. Never gonna happen.
That moment of realization was everything - great work to the team in this 👏
Each and every scene in this movie reminded me of my childhood. It was full of joy and laughter. However, I had to travel with my mom and I can vividly see this memory, I was about to burst into tears which happened on the plane...I will never ever forget how my father kept smiling while holding back his tears...Children are always the victims and they blame themselves if their parents are having a conflict, they should do everything in their power to make the relationship successful for the sake of the innocent kid! Unless one of the parents is a toxic influence or alcoholic or all other domestic violence disasters...Great moments in your movie, love, respect, and thank you for writing this brilliant story.
Beautiful job by all involved.
My visceral reaction to the character was much more favorable when he got rid of his earrings, ripped jeans, leather jacket and funky rings! My own biases coming to the fore? Or a sign of the character's growth?
Love these films that get to my heart.
Thanks for making this!
Definitely a sign of your own bias. Being alternative does not in any single way diminish your ability to love or your need for validation.
@@kezza596 Of course, you labeling him "alternative" belies your own preconceived notions 😉
It's your bias. His more mature style supposed to show the time that had passed. It's a simple and smart way to express that he's older.
Brilliant, heartbreaking, true.
Wow, what a powerful ending! I cried too ...
Same….
Brilliant, heartfelt, and very well done!
Been there before, but fortunately with not quite the same tragic split. Mine's getting married next year!
I didn't see that coming. Great ending. Love is hard, in all of it's forms.
Is that the little girl?
Amazing…beautiful done film in every way and so relatable on so many levels…thank you for making this ❤
Amazing surprise ending, I didn't expect it. And I believe it was the mother's fault that he left, not his or his stepdaughter's. She made him feel excluded.
I LOVE THIS. Heartbreaking
Ingenius, heartbreaking, and unfortunately true.
Oh my...love this story and how it ended....thankyou 💙🌎
I felt the pain 😥.
Would LOVE to see a part 2 of this installment.
Keep on as you are because even though she is unable to express exactly how important you are in her life. Keep loving her because 1 day (may feel like eternity) yes 1 day she will show you by her life how important you being supportive in her life actually is❤
wow... didn't see that end coming
sad that she ends up comforting him when he was the one who chose to leave her
Beautiful honest film that reflect how life sadly works out for some of us. Props to cast & crew.
Anybody else chopping onions? 😭🧅🧅🧅 Damn onions always make me cry.
That was emotional. Well acted throughout.
This is so BEAUTIFUL! I had such a similar life experience, yeah, I cried it was so real for me.
Very nice!
This one got me 😢
Courts need ro get involved in preserving contact between step parents and the kids they become attached to in a relationship.
Sometimes kids idealize the absent parent. The parent or stepparent that is there day-to-day gets the shaft. It's sad but I don't think the child realizes what she's doing.
100% Facts.... The pressures of being a stepfather.
Love the chanel but can you do more thriller physiological type films please
Excellent!
Damn😢
What happened?I skipped
Don't skip@@Ryufreak
I was raised by a bisexual father. He married my mother out of fear of being judged. She knew he was gay / bisexual. She met another man who is also like a father to me. I got lucky with two wonderful Fathers. My Mother is happy ❤ I'd love to see more LGBT FILMS.
As an adopted father who saw variations of this 'step' relationship stuff in my friends (a reason why I adopted) I generally will say "Blood Tells".
He gotta except that he will never be her dad.
This was beautiful ❤ but didn't understand y the mother told him not to get involved in any child's life ? even his own child she said
The mother simply did not know how to explain that the adults were breaking up, and the child was collateral damage - Michael still and always loves Caroline dearly, but the adults not getting along is more important right now. The mother's bitterness seems to have made her say a cruel thing. Sad.
She didn't want to see the pain repeated.
@@PippiLong1 It can be presented not as pain. You can help a child to understand to cherish the experience, yet not dwell on pain. Stressing the "pain" is more projecting complex adult feelings to the child. Not good.
I think she qualified it by saying, "Don't do it - unless and until you are completely ready to do it."
I think that it was Michael that was breaking up with the mother and that he was abandoning both her and Caroline by leaving them forever for his new job. Mom asked him to never do this again (to someone else’s child or even his own) by saying be ready and willing to accept them completely vs just leaving when things got tough and he wanted out. He later broke down with regret and shame with Caroline at the arcade as that was his very first interaction with her since being at the airport.
I get that he chooses to leave and thus break two hearts because he cannot cope with always being #2 to his girlfriend’s daughter. What I don’t get is the end - who is that woman?? At first I though it was his ex-stepdaughter but he would have recognised her, plus he has does not really look any older. So… punchline?!?
Children change more than adults. 2 actors played Caroline.
Uhh, it was his ex stepdaughter. When she asked his son, why did he want the ball, her ex stepdad remembers that's something he used to say to her. Then he immediately realizes it's his ex stepdaughter.
@@A-r-o-h Thanks. To me, that was not clear. Perhaps because the actress playing the woman looks nothing like the girl.
He looks older because he adapted to a dad fashion towards the end. It's a low budget filmmaker way of telling us the passing of time.
Guys, I thought the comment section would help get the ending. I didn’t get 😢
Sinus-clarifying
I must be the only dumbo that doesn’t get it, where is the step daughter, who is this boy?
❤😢
What was the story with the last girl? Why were they crying?
That's the little girl in the beginning, she's grown up now.
@@A-r-o-h Thank you. Had to watch it again.
@@A-r-o-h how do you know is her?
@@alistercheng "Do you really want it? Why?"
WoW...upside down, is MoM.
Incredible
The store employees are so badly acted. No one in those menial jobs is that chipper or emotionally engaged. The lady working at chuck e. cheese who breaks down crying is just awful.
They can be they're people too.
also don't you get she's his stepdaughter
@@chosengloria2008 sure, a minimum wage employee COULD be super perky and happy to be there, but, as anyone who has ever gone outside and been to a business where these folks work knows, that's not generally the case.
Also, what does it matter that she's a step-kid? How does that play into the acting or roles of the wage slaves in this film?
It's only a STORY, people. It didn't really happen. It can't hurt you. Please grow up!
'suspension of disbelief' is a product of exercising your imagination over your logic!
@@PaulaStreet And it's a great thing. The problem is, some people can't differentiate fantasy from reality. And that's NOT a great thing. Getting all emotional and not having the clarity to realize that it's just the product of entertainment is often dangerous. Ask Jodie Foster.
Ladies, make sure you have children with men you are going to stay with and remain loyal to. Choose carefully. And guys, just don't date single moms. Problem solved.
Only accept your own children.
Such a sad comment. Adopted and step-children are worthy of acceptance (and so much more).
My stepdaughter is my daughter in every way that matters.
I love kids but never wanted to make one.
Horrible thing to say
You must be real happy in life !