Towelhead

SIFF always seems to save a couple of the best movies of the festival for the closing weekend (mostly it's random junk), and this year it's Towelhead, a story of a young Lebanese girl growing up in Texas.

The story is slow, mostly about her difficulties finding acceptance with her friends, family, and herself, and that could be blandly generic if not for excellent writing and amazing cast and direction. Every performance is perfect, and there's an immense power behind the story, script, and direction.

When it gets a wide release, some people are certainly going to be offended by the fact that it contains frank examination of young teenage sexuality, and that it contains plot elements of abuse without making the abuser out as a total monster. But the honesty in every character is rare for a film about such touchy subjects, and it's absolutely worth watching.