CINEQUEST FILM FESTIVAL 2026 MOVIES TO LOOK OUT FOR: HER SONG

MOVIES TO LOOK OUT FOR :

• Director
  • John M. Keller
• Writer
  • John M. Keller
• Genre: Comedy/Drama
• Lanuage: French/English
• Running Time: 1:45
• Stars
  • Kalki Koechlin, 
  • Eléa Clair, and 
  • Julien Jacob
• 
  Olivia, a Franco-American author returns to her ancestral village in the south of France to write the story of her grandmother. There, she becomes enchanted by a local French woman, Madeline, who soon becomes the face of her new novel.

Something is refreshing about a film that takes its time to develop, yet never wavers from its tone or intent. This movie commands the attention of the audience, right from the beginning, with a conversation and a subtle nod to The Godfather (starting with a black screen and talking, don't mistake the subject matter is no where near the Godfather lol). Instead of forcing you into false pretenses or manufactured drama, this film allows you to breathe, absorb, and ultimately ingest all it has to give.

There are great subplots here that give each character the depth needed to produce some drama and definitely some comedy.  It's effective because of the pacing, but also because it's real, thoughtful, and relatable. Now, most movies that are dialogue-driven are everything I said above, but where Her Song excels above your average talkative Indie is that it has this underlying, I hate to say "mystery" because that is as little bit of a stretch, but lets say intriguing discovery in the backdrop of a process many artists are familiar; especially Authors, which is the occupation of our main character Olivia, played by the amazing Kalki Koechlin. 

 More on Kalki and her counterparts, a little further down in this review. 

This movie is gorgeous, and it would almost have been criminal not to feature the many landscapes and little nooks and intriguing spots that allow for more dialogue flourishes and camera set-ups. Directors of Cinematography William Kuhn and Thomas Walser work in beautiful concert with Writer/Director John Keller's script. We are awed but never distracted, and it also plays a role in the dialogue from time to time, which is a smart way to utilize a tourist brochure of sorts for one of the more striking little French villages ever caught on camera. 

Where this movie falls a tad short for me is that there is so much dialogue here, and there are moments that could have done with a look or silence that I feel like could have served the moment to create some tension or transition into a different tone. We don't get a lot of just still frames; we get a lot of static frames, but then they are quickly filled with dialogue. I think of moments like on the swing set or the very first drinking get-together in the village that could have used interesting silences.


The thing is, though, these are also great moments for the actors, and even in heavy dialogue, they really take it on so incredibly well. The acting here really saves this movie from being a tourist brochure. I already mentioned Kalki, who really carries a lot of the movie's truest plot forward with grace, and this innate ability to be as curious and respectful as the audience is in watching. We're respectful and curious, mostly because we get the same introduction and discovery process that Olivia does when it comes to Madeline. Elea Clair steals this movie for me, and she does with this bravado that is subtle and full of juxtaposition. To be blunt, she is a mess internally, and yet, reveal after reveal with her, we get something new and fresh. It is brilliant writing, but more so brilliant acting. Her reactions, her commanding presence in an awe-shucks sort of way, all play to the pacing, the tone, and temperament that this movie well establishes. 

This movie also tackles the first waves of the pandemic, and here is where we get the best aspects of the actor's just reacting as often they are confronted in town with people wearing masks, and it serves as a lot of different fodder. Though I will say even though its 99.9% dialgoue that we get this great, almost guilt-ridden aspect to Olivia's character, or maybe an amusing anecdote is more apt than guilt-ridden, it does help us get a lot more into Olivia, and I love the way in which Kalki presents it too. 

Obviously, you can't have a movie entitled Her Song without music being a key component, but for me, where the music really shines is in the moments where we actually do get some movement and silence on the screen vs dialogue, there's an almost Pink Panther/Peter Sellers aspect of absurdity that the music enhances. It also brings a fluid charm that the actors play with, and has a tendency for this movie to exhibit, and even if that involves talking a lot, I am enraptured all over again and again.   

To further, in the ultimate irony, The Godfather references, just when I think I am out, yep, this movie pulls me back in. Madeline is such a great character, you can't take your eyes or ears off of her. Added in are the many intriguing ancillary characters who just pivot your attention to them. 

This movie is great to look at; a lot of the dialogue is rich, fun, and interesting enough, but the acting here is stellar. I think because of the nature of its tone, this movie will grab a lot of people's attention, and it was very worthy of the coveted Opening Night slot at Cinequest. Hopefully, a wider audience will get the chance to enjoy the dulcet tones of Her Song.