by Hudson Moura
At the heart of Neon Dreaming is the tender and mysterious story of an 8-year-old girl who has grown up without knowing her mother. She lives with her grandmother and father, but the reasons behind her mother’s absence and the secrecy surrounding her identity remain unclear. Her only clue is an old photograph of a ballerina named Genevieve, who may or may not hold the key to her past.
The film’s delicate narrative attempts to explore the emotional landscape of a young girl searching for answers about her origins. However, while the premise is touching, the film struggles to immerse the audience in its emotional core fully. The cinematography and visual style, particularly the recurring use of neon imagery in the girl’s dreams, do little to enhance the film’s central themes or clarify the stakes involved in the search for her mother. Instead, these artistic choices sometimes detract from the overall impact, leaving certain story aspects underdeveloped.
What Neon Dreaming does well is the personal nature of the story. The film is unmistakably intimate, and for good reason—director and screenwriter Marie-Claire Marcotte’s personal touch is evident throughout. As a Franco-Ontarian production in both French and English, the film feels like a deeply personal project for Marcotte, who injects a sense of authenticity into the narrative despite the somewhat unclear direction.
While the film succeeds in conveying the emotional weight of a young girl’s search for her mother, it ultimately lacks the inspirational drive that one might expect from such a poignant subject. The film feels sensitive but falls short of being truly compelling, and the emotional resonance of the girl’s quest remains underexplored. Nevertheless, the film’s quiet reflection on family secrets and identity makes it a personal and heartfelt contribution to the landscape of Franco-Ontarian cinema.
Though Neon Dreaming may not stand out in terms of its cinematic execution, it offers a heartfelt story that, despite its flaws, touches on the universal theme of searching for one’s roots and the pain of an absent parent. The film will be presented at Cinéfranco—Festival International du film francophone, from November 1 to 10, 2024, at the Carlton Cinema in Toronto.