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TagMockumentary

Sundance: Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul

After controversy drove away all but a handful of congregants from the Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church, pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) dreams of a new beginning. With his wife Trinitie (Regina Hall), AKA “The First Lady”, by his side he gets to work relaunching the church just in time for Easter. In his time, Lee-Curtis  shared a prosperity gospel from a gold throne, sold worship DVDs, has laser shoes and did “praise miming.” All spectacle for what ended up being false righteousness when he was accused of sexual misconduct. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the details of both his controversy and his crumbling marriage. The couple and their church are the focus of a documentary series with a camera crew following their every move. And the person taking center stage is Trinitie/The First Lady, who feels forced to keep up appearances and support her husband despite all signs warning her to escape.

By filmmaking duo Adamma and Adanne Ebo, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul is a satisfyingly funny satire that features two wonderful performances from its stars Brown and Hall. Regina Hall especially shines in her portrayal of a woman falling apart on the inside but trying to hold it together for everyone else. The story loses steam in the last half and I wish the filmmakers had stuck to a strictly mockumentary style format rather than shifting back and forth from it.

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Clairevoyant

Claire (Micaela Wittman) is having a quarter-life crisis.  After discovering her spiritual guru Tony Robbins and taking a Vinyasa Yoga Flow class, Claire finds herself on the path to enlightenment. And of course, she has to make a documentary about her journey. She hires cameraman Earl (Arthur De Larroche) to film her as she seeks wisdom from various spiritual guides. Claire is out of touch, tone deaf and downright delusional. She lives comfortable in a Beverly Hills home funded by her father and pretends to have some mysterious trauma that really doesn’t exist in her otherwise cushy and privileged life. After a series of disappointments, Claire is forced to face the truth about herself.

“I don’t want to be sad anymore. I just want to be happy all the time.”

Claire

Written and directed by Micaela Wittman and Arthur De Larroche, Clairevoyant is a delightfully quirky mockumentary that offers heaping doses of both humor and cringe. Wittman is terrific as Claire, playing into the character’s naivety and awkwardness. The film accurately depicts both millennial angst and white woman privilege and offers criticism on the commodification of spirituality. At its heart though, it’s really about a delusional young woman trying to find her way in life. 

Clairevoyant is available on digital and VOD.

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