Sunfish and Other Stories on Green Lake, 2025.
Written and Directed by Sierra Falconer.
Starring Jonathan Stoddard, Michela Luci, Wayne Duvall, Brooke Butler, Adam LeFevre, Dominic Bogart, Marceline Hugot, Bryant Carroll, Emily Hall, Karsen Liotta, Jim Kaplan, Lauren Sweetser, Marshall Dancing Elk Lucas, Luke Barnett, Craig Nigh, Jared Canfield, Giovanni Mazza, Tenley Kellogg, Maren Heary, Jaime Gallagher, Bella Shaw, Clayton Hoff, Mercedes Marcial, Ethan Stoddard, Hadley Durkee, Peter Knox, and Joe Anthony Gordon.
SYNOPSIS:
An anthology following the residents of a small town and the lake that binds them together.
An anthology film set all around Michigan’s Green Lake, writer/director Sierra Falconer’s Sunfish and Other Stories on Green Lake contains four stories centered on characters of different ages, rocky connections with their parents, and even some rebellious shenanigans when on the hunt for a large fish. Naturally, the through line is that the open waters are where these characters discover more about themselves, captured with the beauty by cinematographer Marcus Patterson. Whether characters are sailing or diving into the water, there is a gravitational pull to this place and time’s serenity and aesthetic pleasantries (I don’t recall seeing any modern technology, so the film presumably takes place somewhere in the 1990s.) Actions all over Green Lake are also set to a stirring, rousing score by Brian Steckler, tapping into the emotional state of the characters.
Sunfish and Other Stories on Green Lake is tighter than other anthologies in terms of keeping a consistent focus on ideas and themes across individual stories. However, it’s still not without diminishing returns. Unfortunately, one wishes the film picked one of these stories and developed them further, particularly the first one that follows 14-year-old Lu (Maren Heary) spending the summer with her estranged grandparents and slowly warming up to them alongside growing a fascination for sailing. At first, there is a reluctance to spend time watching a girl stubbornly resisting affection from her grandparents, frustrated that her parents spontaneously dropped her off there following an impromptu marriage, but the specificity of watching grandpa (Adam LeFevre) teach her the ins and outs of sailing, it’s somewhat of a bummer when the film drops us into another story right when she sets off to discover what around her.
From there, we observe a boy (Jim Kaplan) at a music summer camp pressured strictly by his mom to focus on that study while all the other kids have fun in and around the lake. Then, there is a story about two unlikely people (Karsen Liotta and Dominic Bogart) joining forces to cut the previously mentioned humongous fish, which contains an unexpected reveal. Finally, a closing chapter follows two siblings (Emily Hall and Tenley Kellogg) who do everything together, love baking together, and have their eyes on boys. However, something is about to shake up that tight-knit dynamic.
There is direct connectivity between the stories, with characters referencing locations or events from the others pleasantly, making the film feel more whole and making what might seem like a smaller location for larger, more expansive, and more prosperous with life and moving stories. Also, whether it’s sailing, intense instrument practicing, or baking cupcakes, there is a detailed fixation on the activities that go a long way in breathing life into a location that is also a character. There is authenticity behind everything that keeps Sunfish and Other Stories on Green Lake engaging. Despite that, it’s hard to shake the feeling that a fully fleshed-out film centered on Lu is what would have been memorable.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
