Blowing Up—A Perspective on Grief and a Lesson in Compassion
We are constantly being pushed to move on from mishaps and negative feelings. What happens if we're not ready to do so?

At just 16, Soraya is already creating stunning drawings and sculptures that are as beautiful as they are dark. This strong-willed Afghan sculptor and illustrator has been trying for five years to escape Iran and join her mother in Austria.
We are constantly being pushed to move on from mishaps and negative feelings. What happens if we're not ready to do so?
Zoe Saldaña is a CIA operative who leads a special program that recruits women to infiltrate and dismantle international criminal enterprises, with a QRT(Quick Response Team) providing operational security that shoots people and blows things up on a weekly basis.
In a film where a Black couple is framed to be the lead characters, they still managed to get shuffled off to the sidelines. The enthusiastic cast delivers well on goofy bits- but can only go so far before they begin to fall flat.
A quiet film that does not demand your tears but earns them. It explores love that lingers, timing that fails, and the silence between what was and what could have been.
Tarantino's alternative history of the 1960's uncritically repeats the era's sexist and racist stereotypes.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.