Sophy Romvari’s debut feature is well worth the wait, blending the loving cinematic craft of her short films with daring, time-jumping storytelling, all set against the gorgeous landscape of Vancouver Island. Blue Heron is a devastating family portrait that feels almost perverse in its unwavering gaze. Though our lead character is too young to understand exactly what’s wrong with her older brother, she feels the aftershocks decades later. The audience witnesses a slow motion crash with no relief, except for the beautiful summer landscapes and nostalgic sounds.

There’s an instinct one might have to summarize the film as “the first half is nostalgic memory gazing, while the second half is devastating.” This wrongfully disparages the world we see through eight-year-old Sasha’s eyes, and serves only to enhance the film’s dramatic turn towards adult Sasha and her attempts to reckon with her brother’s troubled legacy. Neither half would work as well if they weren’t both expertly employed, with great actors playing mother and father (Iringó Réti & Ádám Tompa) and grounding the events in their love and frustration.

Blue Heron is one of the year’s best films, which grows in my estimation with each passing day. Sitting with Sophy and her memories, her anguish, and her attempts to understand the past shook me to my core in the way that only great art can. In many ways the film left me speechless, but I implore all readers to see it as soon as possible. Just understand there are no easy answers.

Blue Heron
2026
dir. Sophy Romvari
90 min

Now playing @ Coolidge Corner Theatre, West Newton Cinema, and AMC Boston Common