See You Yesterday (2019)

Two of my favourite films ever deal with time travel, the cerebral and horrifying Primer and the popular classic Back to the Future. See You Yesterday reminds me of both in different ways. It features Michael J. Fox in a cameo to hearken back to that 1985 fun adventure film, a film it is clearly paying homage to with its kids-save-the-day adventure vibe. But in the end See You Yesterday sticks closer to the esthetic of Primer with its cautionary tale lessons and its less than optimistic view of our world and our ability to fix it. In there it also manages to mix in elements of The Hate U Give. Two friends discover through their passion for science a way to move back through time and end up having a reason to use it despite being warned of the consequences.

See You Yesterday features a young smart science focused women in the lead and specifically centres the issues of police violence against her community. The balance between the gravity of the film's social focus and its kids adventure vibe is a tenuous one that I felt the film walked, for the most part, beautifully. Kids are drawn to stories of kids saving the day but this story is set in a very real, very frightening world. People swear and talk like people talk, and not how we are used to hearing them talk in films aimed at youth. Also, there are real consequences to the choices made by our heroes. Again we're used to kids saving the day. But we're faced with the idea that sometimes it can't be saved and that can be a powerful if unpopular message.

But See You Yesterday finds a way to make this all pay off. It is a very satisfying and rewarding film. I felt the film could have benefited from a longer run time to flesh out some of the themes in a way to make them more powerful. But overall I think it nails what it is trying to do. And as the movie reached its climax I truly wondered how they were going to wrap up this tale. I wasn't sure I knew where it was going, a feature I truly appreciate in most movies. I won't spoil it but in a way I felt the film makers found the perfect way to sum it up that doesn't betray anything leading up to the conclusion.

While it may be a bit intense for the younger viewers, older children should get a lot from See You Yesterday, as will their parents.

See You Yesterday
Starring: Eden Duncan-Smith, Dante Crichlow, Astro, Michael J Fox
Director: Stefon Bristol
Writers: Fredrica Bailey, Stefon Bristol