SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! In On Earth as in Heaven, Clara (Lou Thompson) and Sarah (Philomène Bilodeau) are two sisters in a rural Canadian Christian cult whose lives are tightly controlled, with little knowledge of the world outside their community. One day, the elder sister Sarah escapes, leaving Clara to question her own existence. Following clues, Clara also runs away to Montreal to bring her sister back into the fold but finds herself encountering a bewildering world that she can barely comprehend.
Clara goes to the one address she knows, which she found on a discarded postcard. It is that of her aunt, Louise (Édith Cochrane), whom she’s never met. Louise is understanding but wants nothing to do with her sister’s cult and tries to get her niece to return. When it appears the community has abandoned her, Clara, Louise lets her stay for a few days to find her sister.
Louise is fun and kind, but she’s clearly had some dark moments in her past, many of which relate to the rift with her sister. She uses alcohol to escape and doesn’t quite know what to do with a child suddenly in her care.
In the process of trying to find her sister, Clara experiences the “real world” for the first time, discovering city life, other beliefs, music, books, bicycle riding, guile, dancing, and alcohol. This is a coming-of-age story, only on steroids, since so many of the things we learn gradually over childhood are condensed into some parallels with Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, although On Earth as in Heaven is much more realistic and grounded.
“…two sisters in a rural Canadian Christian cult whose lives are tightly controlled…”
The performance of Lou Thompson as Clara is nothing short of exceptional. She’s absolutely convincing as a sheltered girl who has never really experienced the world. She somehow comes across as heartbreaking, profound, curious, and sheltered all at once. This eventually gives way to enlightenment, but so slowly that it is completely convincing and transfixing. Director Nathalie Saint-Pierre deserves an enormous amount of credit for pacing this tale of self-discovery perfectly so that it is always captivating and never exactly predictable.
The screenplay was written and filmed by Marika Lhoumeau based on a similar experience in her own family. Director Nathalie Saint-Pierre gets co-writing credit since she helped to hone the script into its finished form, complete with the conceit of searching for the sister. That gives the film much more of a ticking clock and a perceived mission, although, as always, the journey really is the destination.
The direction from Nathalie Saint-Pierre is superb, which really puts you in the eyes and ears of Clara, seeing and hearing a city for the first time and riding a bicycle for the first time. But it is really the personal scenes of experiencing music, heartbreak, dancing, and even a mirror the first time that are the heart and soul of the film. The direction, writing, and acting all come together masterfully.
On Earth as in Heaven played at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It will be released on April 12 in Canada.
"…personal scenes of experiencing music, heartbreak, dancing, and even a mirror for the first time that are the heart and soul of the film. "
