Tonight I saw The Florida Project at the Egyptian in Seattle. I've been looking forward to it showing up here and it was worth the wait. Not so many movies follow small children around, and fewer still focus on the particular socioeconomic fringes that these characters live in. Children have license to thread themselves though the lives and households of many adults, like stray cats, a fact this movie uses to great effect to illustrate the kids' perspective (in terms of both fantasy and close detail) and the scratched-out existence of the adults. And through it all the hotel manager is caught in the middle, thanklessly. I especially appreciated that the director did not take the easy way out in the end, and dared leave the audience feeling as empty-handed as the people in the film — it was palpable tonight at the Egyptian when the film ended. This is a great film, and I will be seeking out the other films of Sean Baker. I'm putting this on my list of favorite movies about children.

→ An interview with the director