Critic Reviews

A gorgeous meditation on girlhood

Jazzy can be called many things — a slice-of-life rumination on the things we take for granted, a coming-of-age marvel — but, at its core, it's the simplest and most childlike of statements that echo far beyond the movie's pitch-perfect ending.

This is a filmmaker who knows how to tell story by showing it, and by trusting her audience to come along for the ride. How rare that has become these days.

Morrisa Maltz’s Jazzy is a gentle, impressionistic wonder that authentically captures growing up.

At first glance, Jazzy might seem more polished and traditionally structured than its predecessor. But the two films share a proudly scrappy and loose-limbed spirit in their soulful, tranquil pace.

Collaborating again with The Unknown Country cinematographer Andrew Hajek, Maltz plays with close-ups and other snug camera angles to make viewers co-conspirators in Jazzy’s adventures. There’s an endearing clumsiness to the film, too, reflecting the awkward pauses and missteps of real life.

Jazzy relies on the look and feel of its world to communicate what Jazzy is feeling and succeeds in painting a universal portrait of growing up.

Wonderfully lensed by Andrew Hajek and rhythmically edited by Laura Colwell and Vanara Taing, Jazzy is an often whimsical portrait of childhood and tradition that feels loose, playful, and boundless with raw emotions and a sense of hopefulness.