Sovereign (2025)

I think everything about this is good. I didn't really like it, though. Performances were great. Some good yelling. A little too much yelling. I feel like this is an Oscar attempt. Or a lot of wreathed indie festival badges. Poor kid. Interesting things happen. The ending is unnecessary. Who is this about? I don't care about that man at all. Beautiful minivan. Bit of a shame they blow their load on the cover. Sovereign 2 will feature the baby. Baby has grown up and is mostly focusing on boss level scammer sovereigns and the corrupt preachers they have joined forces with. They operate under the dominion of god. Ze operates under the dominion of revenge.

I gave it an 8/10, and I do think it's a compelling and interesting film. I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best indie films of 2025 so far. But holy moly is it hard to watch. Watching the treatment of the teenage character by his father should give anyone with a pulse a strong sense of discomfort, and it's not out of line to say that much of what we see her is abusive, even as the teenager takes clandestine steps to disentangle himself from his father's web and pursue a more normal adolescence. This isn't something you want to watch on a beautiful, sunny day as it might just ruin your day, but it's worth your time.