A tender portrait of resilience and communal lament, Rebuilding feels like it’s plucked straight from a hearth. With the help of star Josh O’Connor, director Max Walker-Silverman and cinematographer Alfonso Herrera Salcedo cast a wondrous spell, imbuing the film with an invitational affection in everything from mundane compositions of chilies being roasted over a fire to establishing shots that capture the wondrous expanse and sunset of the San Luis Valley. It’s a film that sits with the pain and anguish of the people we lose, the possessions that wither, and the memories we forget through the passage of time. At the same time, Rebuilding is an exercise in hope, offering a portrait of how a community, united by a common crisis, can exorcise the temptation to self-isolate and instead remain present and carry each other’s burdens.
The crisis the community in Colorado faces is one that’s all too familiar in an age where the land is arid and dry: after a wildfire devastates the ranch of cowboy Dusty (Josh O’Connor), he finds himself in a FEMA camp along with other affected residents. They’re unsure of what the future holds and live in a sort of liminal space, all aching from what they’ve lost, both what they can and can’t remember, and cautiously discerning their next steps as they imagine what rebirth might look like.
Dusty is estranged from his ex-wife, Ruby (Meghann Fahy), but wants to connect with his daughter, Callie Rose (Lily LaTorre). The film follows Dusty and Callie’s relationship, but it’s as much about remembrance and reconnecting as it is about rebirth, and it’s touching to witness the community take what it means to be neighbors seriously. There are many sequences of Dusty and other residents in fellowship around the bonfire while engaging in an impromptu potluck or singing songs. The film luxuriates in these intimate scenes; it’s not trying to rush towards an unearned or rousing conclusion, instead showing that it’s these moments of shared humanity that form the bedrock for being able to start again.
All the performers are on Walker-Silverman’s introspective wavelength, with special praise to Josh O’Connor, who embodies both a steeliness and vulnerability that evolves into a sort of serenity as the film progresses. It would be easy to play Dusty as loud and abrasive, but O’Connor and Walker-Silverman seem aware that the stereotype of the vociferous, chauvinistic cowboy doesn’t quite have a place in the New West of the modern day. Dusty’s vices aren’t obvious, but they are present; he’s gentle and accommodating, but also stubborn in his independence. While at the FEMA camp, he cautions Callie Rose not to interact with the others, sharing, “We don’t need to bother anybody… [they’re] not real neighbors anyway.” It’s moving to see him shift towards a vision of life that includes leaning on the strangers around him.
Another tension that Rebuilding navigates expertly is the simultaneous beauty and tragedy of witnessing this community come together. There’s a relevance to what we’re witnessing, given recent wildfires, but the devastation we see also invokes the harmful storms and floods that have displaced and harmed communities. As humanity continues to harm Earth, stories like Dusty’s and his family’s will only become more common. It’s beautiful that the community can adapt, but there’s also a sadness that this constant acclimation will be a fixture of contemporary life. While the film doesn’t make any explicit calls for climate justice, the love Walker-Silverman has for the earth is entirely evident in how he captures the Colorado landscape. From keeping the camera fixed on the parched soil to focusing on all the radiant hues that can be held in a night sky, the film bears witness to all that we can lose and the inherent beauty of the world around us. We’d best take a look before it’s all gone.
The quiet, enlivening power of Rebuilding ultimately lies in its treatment of hope. People often talk of hope as a mindset, and to have hope can often seem foolish and disingenuous in the midst of genuine hardship and tragedy. The hope of the characters in Rebuilding, that they’ll be able to live normal lives, that they as a community can emerge stronger, is not a passive mindset but an active reality they are stewarding into being. Hope is a muscle, one that needs conditioning and practice, and Rebuilding is Walker-Silverman’s exercise in trying his hand at dreaming. He dares to envision a world where people of disparate backgrounds, who may not have been present for each other pre-crisis, can use the aftermath of hardship to become long-lasting kindred spirits. He reminds us that beauty can still come from the aftermath of fire, so long as we’re willing to sift through ashes.
- Release Date
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January 26, 2025
- Runtime
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95 minutes
- Director
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Max Walker-Silverman
- Writers
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Max Walker-Silverman
- Producers
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Paul S. Mezey, Dan Janvey, Andrew Goldman, Josh Peters, Robina Riccitiello, Elliott Whitton, Bill Way
Cast
