‘Swim Little Fish Swim’ is a multi-layered look at art and relationships in NYC
A musician conditioned by his anti-capitalistic beliefs, struggling to make a living for his wife and young daughter, finds hope from a runaway Parisian artist trying to escape the shadows of her famous painter mother. Shot like any other independent film expected from a beginning filmmaker, Lola Bessis’ dramatic comedy branches out and is smartly defined by layers of inner conflict. With New York City playing as the film’s backdrop of emotion, Swim Little Fish Swim can easily fall into today’s better city-based dramadies. It’s relatable in conflict, yet unique in effects. It’s loud in its choices of art and music, yet refreshing when establishing character relationships. There are elements in the film we have not seen on the big screen, and there are elements that feel all too familiar. It’s both large at heart, but small in scope. It’s everything chaotic and silent one would expect from life’s inner toil, making it a direct observation of life in the big city.
