Healing Isn’t a Straight Line

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MOVIE REVIEW
New Beginnings (Les Recommencements)
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Genre: Documentary
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 27m
Director(s): Isabelle Ingold, Vivianne Perelmuter
Where to Watch: shown at the 2025 Vision du Reel

RAVING REVIEW: A story doesn’t always need to shout to leave an impact. Sometimes, it only needs to whisper, take time, and sit in discomfort without rushing toward resolution. That’s the space NEW BEGINNINGS chooses to occupy. Rather than relying on conventional narrative or emotional punctuation, the film adopts a stillness, examining a man’s reckoning with his past and present. It’s not about closure but staying with the questions without easy answers.

Al Moon, a Vietnam veteran and member of the Yurok tribe, is the central figure—literally and emotionally—of this introspective journey. The story revolves around his road trip from his reservation in California to a veterans’ reunion, but the physical travel is only a vehicle for something deeper. What unfolds is an inward examination of identity, regret, survival, and the uneasiness that lives in the quiet between conversations. As Moon traces the road back to his former friends, he also circles memories left to sit in silence for decades.

The landscape captured on this journey doesn’t just serve as a backdrop—it becomes a supporting character. Rural stretches of America appear faded and weary, much like the memories Moon unearths. The imagery of depleted streams, which once symbolized abundance in his community, now marks a sense of ecological loss that parallels the cultural erosion he feels. These visual choices are layered, not overstated, allowing the setting to echo Al’s internal state without resorting to forced metaphors.

Moon’s narration, made even more delicate by the stroke he suffered during post-production, adds a level of sincerity and gravity that can’t be manufactured. His voice cracks from physical strain and the emotional weight behind the words. He doesn’t simply recount events; he relives them, questions them, and sometimes seems uncertain whether speaking them aloud brings relief. His reflections are candid, sometimes contradictory, and refreshingly unvarnished.

One of the most striking elements of NEW BEGINNINGS is its resistance to character archetypes. The moon isn’t portrayed as a symbol or representative of any larger issue. Instead, he’s allowed the full complexity of a person reckoning with difficult truths. For instance, his relationship to the military is tense—he acknowledges having served without pride, while still holding onto the residual weight of that identity. His aversion to guns now is steeped in personal evolution, not rhetoric.

As the reunion approaches, Moon voices apprehension. His hesitation isn’t just about seeing familiar faces again—it’s about whether the past can ever be confronted in the presence of those who lived it with him. The shared history with his fellow veterans is heavy with unspoken truths, and the film doesn’t try to manufacture emotional reconciliation. Instead, it offers a more honest depiction of reunion: one built on tension, ambiguity, and the knowledge that some distances remain uncrossed.

The environmental challenges on the Yurok reservation are briefly addressed visually but rarely examined in detail. A stronger connection between the personal and the systemic could have helped elevate the stakes, providing additional clarity on what is at risk beyond the psychological and emotional toll. This doesn’t break the film but leaves a thread that could have deepened the overall picture.

NEW BEGINNINGS commits to following one man’s inner world, giving it room to stretch and breathe. That commitment yields a documentary that feels more like an open journal than a polished essay. Its honesty lies in the fact that it doesn’t promise healing, redemption, or transformation. It merely suggests that sitting with the past—acknowledging it—is a form of progress.

Directors Isabelle Ingold and Vivianne Perelmuter deserve credit for their restraint. They don’t insert themselves or push the narrative toward melodrama. Their touch allows Moon to lead the story's rhythm. They trust the material, and that trust is well placed. This isn’t a documentary for those seeking resolution. There’s no triumphant return, emotional climax, or hard-hitting twist. But for those willing to engage with something slower, something more thoughtful, NEW BEGINNINGS offers a space to reflect on how we carry our history—how it clings to us, shapes us, and occasionally resurfaces when we least expect it.

Rather than offer a declaration, the film provides a pause. It invites the audience to stop for a moment and consider the weight of memory, not for the sake of nostalgia, but for the possibility of gaining a deeper understanding. And in a media landscape often allergic to ambiguity, that kind of storytelling is rare and welcome.

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[photo courtesy of CLIN D'OEIL FILMS, LA HUIT PRODUCTION]

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