Last Weekend with Jenny and John Short Film Review

★★★★★

Directed by: #JimmyOlsson

Starring: #MattiasNordkvist and #GryEriksson

Short Film Review by: Alexandra James

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Last Weekend with Jenny and John is a short Swedish film that follows a father and daughter on a trip to Motala for a basketball game that daughter Jenny is playing in. The film focuses on their relationship and the changes that have developed as Jenny becomes a teenager and no longer needs her father anymore. Instead, she wishes to be around friends and chooses to spend less and less time with him. Whereas John is struggling to come to terms with this reality and wants to bridge the gap between the two, so arranges a weekend for just them so they can spend some quality time together. In terms of narrative alone, it is simple and clear, we have a loving father and a typical teenage daughter with an average family relationship. However, because of this normality, it’s a relationship with which the audience can fully connect with. The raw emotion between the two, is real and moving, and spells out the truths of becoming a parent and the feelings you experience when you are no longer needed by your child.

Jenny and John created a bond through playing basketball together, it’s clear that this is a sport which her father played a lot with Jenny from a young age, and she has grown to love the game and has now become a part of a team. However, as the match approaches, Jenny mentions that she is thinking of quitting basketball, a statement which clearly affects John emotionally. His daughter is growing up and the quality time they have together is few and far between, Jenny leaving basketball, only distances her further away from her father.

It was easy to see the relationship between the two break down before our eyes. Jenny was oblivious to her father trying to reconnect with her and instead buries her head in her phone and the world of social media and wishes to be around her teammates. At the same time, John refuses to recognise that his daughter is becoming a young woman and needs that independence to gain confidence and learn to stand on her own two feet. Both characters represent very real father and daughter relationships in life. It’s a hard change a parent and child must experience and its often not recognised enough. However, there will always be times that children need the support from their parents, and even parents that need their children. Although there is that moment where the two move away emotionally and physically from one another, that bond will always remain, and it was great that the Last Weekend with Jenny and John reflected that bond so well and highlights the importance of family.

Director Jimmy Olsson creates a beautiful story which shows the highs and lows of being a father and that need to always be the hero in their child’s life and to feel wanted. The cinematography and locations within this short were fantastic, I really enjoyed this piece and highly recommend.