source: Ayar

At the heart of Ayar is a moving story about motherhood and the difficulty decisions mothers have to make in their attempts to care for their children and to bring meaning to their lives. I think the storytelling and the work done by the two female leads in this film was really unique and important. However, the film features a lot of experimental work and technique that I feel could really take the viewer away from the story. If that time (and probably more) went to developing the details of the plot and further character building, I think this movie really would have been excellent because as I mentioned this movie did have really good writing and acting. I give the director and the actors a lot of credit for the sincerity and vulnerability they bring to this film.

Ayar (Ariana Ron Pedrique) is a troubled woman interviewing for a cleaning job in a rich L. A. home. She lives in a remote motel while dealing with COVID and many other issues. This seems to be a functional indie and then it takes a turn into surreal realism. While I appreciate the outside-the-box filmmaking, the real life may not be worth the dramatization. There has to be a more compelling story than this or it needs to be told in a better way. This is different but ultimately, it's not good enough.

Finally something unique, not perfect in any way and that's what makes it great! Seek it out if you can. The characters are all very real and human and the storytelling is a never been done before. And this film is not about covid in any way I have ever seen, it's about humanity and respect, family and love.

Artsy experimental film distracted from a potentially good story. Excessive flashbacks & confusingly tossing in brief bios of other people (not clear why). Plants suddenly growing on walls & ceilings, inside & outside - dumb. Poor flow to storyline. Excessive emphasis on making mistakes, and selfish behavior. Never got to know the characters or backgrounds. Ending - you decide.

Ayar