Mountains
Directed by Monica Sorelle
Written by Monica Sorelle, Robert Colom
Starring Atibon Nazaire, Sheila Anozier, Chris Renois
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
Opens in New York August 23 and expands August 30

by Heidi Krull, Staff Writer

Working hard will get you far in life, but at the same time gets you nowhere. As the Haitian proverb goes, “behind mountains are mountains.”

Directed by Monica Sorelle, Mountains (2023) unpacks the generational trauma of Haitian immigrants living in Miami. Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) is a demolition worker who typically keeps his head down, but is slowly beginning to notice the destruction of his neighborhood and its rapid gentrification. His wife, Esperance (Sheila Anozier) works multiple jobs to keep the family’s savings up and to support their adult son, Junior (Chris Renois). Though they live fairly comfortably in their small bungalow home, Xavier is forced to demolish the homes of “Little Haiti” every single day, and he starts to understand that his home could be next. Sorelle makes the audience walk alongside the family and really get to know them on a deep level, showing how, in America, trying your best to support yourself is not always enough to beat out capitalism.

I was incredibly moved by the acting performances in this film. The character Xavier, played by Atibon Nazaire, showed his amazing range in every scene he was in, even when he wasn't saying anything. The viewer can easily see that he is a hard worker and dedicated to keeping his family afloat, but he is also full of humor, deep love, and wisdom. The three main characters had great chemistry on screen, and multiple times I found myself getting sucked into their conversations. Their relationship is complicated; Junior is an adult who dropped out of college (much to his parent’s displeasure) and is pursuing a career in standup comedy. His parents, who have always given him what he needed, struggle to understand his decision. Throughout this conflict, you can clearly see the parents working through their feelings about it, and Junior coming to grips with where his life is headed. The dialogue feels so real and raw, and the way it's delivered went beyond my expectations for the acting in this film.

Mountains deals with a plethora of sensitive topics, and I thought they handled these topics with a graceful ease. Xavier dealt with casual racism on the daily at his job, which ranged from being called slurs to being taken off jobs in favor of the boss's nephew. The viewer can see Xavier visibly grappling with this. He needs this job, and he can’t necessarily defend himself because he could easily get fired and replaced. Sorelle’s past work, though this is her first full-length film, reflects her knowledge of the hardship Haitians face, specifically those living in Miami. I thought she did excellent work showing how racism isn’t always blatant, but can be subtle microaggressions. One scene that stuck with me showed a white woman walking past Xavier’s home talking on the phone, and she leans up against his fence to stretch without a second thought. This scene showcased how gentrification works; it doesn’t happen in one day, but slowly over the course of time. One day Haitian culture is thriving in Miami, and every day after that their culture is disrespected and stripped away from them, home after home.

While this film had many themes the viewer could take away, the main theme I picked up was simply home. As I was watching, I felt like I knew the three main characters personally by the end, and I could see them becoming closer to each other through understanding each other’s individual struggles. Esperance, growing weary of watching her neighborhood drown, tells Xavier that home can be anywhere. Something I thought was beautiful about this film was Xavier and Junior reconnecting with their culture toward the end. While they absolutely have their differences, aspects of their culture continue to unify them. Xavier always assumed that if he worked as hard as he could, he and his family would find true happiness eventually. Seeing him come to terms with the falsity of that mindset, while also finding a new appreciation for his son and his ancestry, was both a tear-jerker and bittersweet. He lost his hope when it came to his job, but in the end, did not lose his sense of home and belonging.

Mountains creates a stunning image of the reality of American greed and how it affects different immigrant communities. It shows the audience that the “American Dream” means you are made to become a part of your own destruction with the facade of financial gain. The film focused on just one family, but in real life, there are people struggling just like Xavier’s family was. I think this film was an excellent showcase of the power of togetherness, and how family and home are really all that matters.