Hope in the midst of hopelessness.
“AWOL” is the story of a young woman, Joey, who comes home for Christmas before being deployed to Afghanistan. Her main reason for coming home is to convince her girlfriend, Rayna, to go to Canada with her.
There’s just three little problems, Rayna has two children and a husband.
Rayna’s husband is away most of the time, but he picks an inopportune time to show up—right after the girls decide they will go to Canada.
“AWOL” is a heartbreaking short film about two young women trapped in the poverty of their rural community with little or no hope for a future. The cinematography captures the stark realities of a rural winter and adds to the feeling of hopelessness.
There are moments of happiness, however, in this 13 minute film, particularly when the two women see each other again after a long hiatus.
You almost believe they can pull the impossible off. The acting and the music are both surprisingly good.