Joseph Longo and Sofia Camargo’s tender We’re Not Done Yet is a touching glimpse into a mother-son relationship that will strike an emotional chord with most of us. It is a reminder about the importance of keeping that connection strong with those we love.
Alex (Joseph Longo) visits his newly single mother, Bettina (Barbara Sukowa), for a weekend at her beach house. But when confronted with her new independence, Alex is forced to face his own controlling nature.
The parent-child relationship is always an intriguing one to put on screen; it is a relationship that is always evolving in some form and, while always familiar, is rarely ever the same. With their short film, We’re Not Done Yet, co-directors Joseph Longo and Sofia Camargo expertly delve into that point in the relationship where the child is the adult and feels they need to parent the parent. The film serves as a poignant reminder that even as our parents enter their elder years, they are still their own people, and while we love them with all our heart, unless they explicitly need it, we should let them be.
We’re Not Done Yet feels akin to a love letter to treasuring your parents while they are still around. Treat them as adults who have wholly different experiences than you, especially as they age, a reminder that we should always keep in touch with them; they raised us, they were there, and for as long as they are around, they will always be there for us. When we grow up into adulthood, we often want to forge our own paths that tend to leave our parents to the side; we lose that constant contact. We also want them around for as long as possible, so we try to control them a touch more than we should. Of course, it’s always out of love, but perhaps a misplaced version of it.
Alex, played marvellously by Longo, does exactly that and, until the end, has fallen victim to trying to be the protector instead of the child or even friend to his mother. Equally, Sukowa is in top form here and plays Bettina as a woman who misses her son and wants to have that connection or need again in her life. It’s an entirely natural and, again, relatable feeling that all you can do is feel for her as she finally unfurls her frustrations at her son.
She has an emptiness that he has kind of forgotten she will always need. No matter how happy and optimistic it is, her nest has emptied, and she needs that feeling of being wanted. Switching up the roles and allowing the parent, specifically and refreshingly the mother, to be the open person allows We’re Not Done Yet to penetrate your mind more. You become intrigued about where Longo’s script is heading, and for a short like this, that is all you can ask for.
Mélanie Akoka fills the screen with warmth worthy of its beachside setting. The film is rather suitably, shot on film, providing a glorious grain look that enhances the deeply intimate feel of the story. The warm tone visually is spread throughout, but especially so during the finale, allowing us to focus more on the dynamic and central relationship between Alex and Bettina. The film’s cinematography, with its gentle charm, is subtle but keenly felt, adding another layer of emotional depth to the narrative.
One thing We’re Not Done Yet will do is make you pick up that phone or go on an impromptu jaunt to visit your mum and/or dad. Its intimate but relatable nature makes it a film you will easily connect with.
★★★★
WE’RE NOT DONE YET will screen at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Short Film Program 5 — premiering on January 27 at 11:30am MST.
Support Us
I am but a small website in this big wide world. As much as I would love to make this website a big and wonderful entity, that would bring in more costs. So, for now, all I hope is to make Upcoming On Screen self-sufficient—well enough that any website fees are less of a worry for me in the future. You can support the website below…
Patreon
You can support us in a variety of ways (other than that wonderful word of mouth and those lovely follows). If you are so inclined to help out, you can support us via Patreon; find our link here! We don’t want to ask much from you, so for now, we have limited our tiers to £1.50 and £3.50. These will, of course, grow the more we plan to do here at Upcoming On Screen.
Buy Us A Coffee
Our other method is through the wonderful Buy Us a Coffee feature, but seeing as we are not the biggest fans of coffee, a pizza will do! We keep it fairly small change on that as well, and it allows you to give just a one-off payment, so there’s no need to worry about that monthly malarky! We even have a little icon on the website for you to find it and help us out with the website’s running.
Social Media
You can also support us via Twitter and Facebook by following us and liking us. Every single one helps
