About a Donkey
Director: Christina Raia
Writer: Kelsey RauberKelsey Rauber
Cast: Christina Shea-Wright, Katherine Wessling, Peter Jensen, Alexandra Clayton, Ben Kaufman, Ricardo Manigat, Ellen Graff, Elisha Mudly, Sarah Haruko, Nabil Vinas, Gwen Albers, Dana Scurlock
Seen on: 25.8.2019
1-gif-review

Plot:
Ann (Katherine Wessling) and Tim (Peter Jensen) have been stuck in a rut that has grown to an outright depression in Ann, and their three adult children Cecilia (Christina Shea-Wright), Burgh (Ben Kaufman), and Annie (Alexandra Clayton) aren’t necessarily in a good place either. Cecilia is currently staying with Annie and her husband Paul (Ricardo Manigat) who are expecting their first baby, while Cecilia doesn’t really know what to do with herself, apart from visiting her grandmother Farrah (Ellen Graff) who encourages her to date Jordan (Elisha Mudly), her caretaker. Burgh is already dating someone, but he is afraid to tell his family because there is bad blood between Annie and his girlfriend Cassie (Sarah Haruko). When Tim decides to purchase a donkey, it shakes up the entire family.

About a Donkey is a tiny-budget production and that doesn’t always work to its advantage. But in the important things, it has all the budget its need and it is funny, sweet and entertaining.

Making movies is an expensive thing, so I have all the understanding in the world that you make do with what you have. And if that means that you have a big dance with approximately 10 people present, that’s just the way it is. If the film looks a little cheap and if the images aren’t always crystal clear, we can all live with that I’m sure. But I will also admit that it is something you have to consciously look past a little.

It’s just a minor irritation though. Because About a Donkey tells a nice story with good characters and that is the really important thing. It is even funny, although the comedic timing isn’t always perfect.

I loved that Farrah is queer – we so rarely get older queer characters in films. This is especialy remarkable because she wasn’t the only queer character in the film. In fact, the central love story is queer and so incredibly cute – it was absolutely adorable.

About a Donkey may not become a new favorite of mine, but I did enjoy it a lot. It was exactly the kind of sweet, (comparatively) short film that is just really hard to find, and always great when you happen upon one.

Summarizing: super sweet.