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Sundance Review: ‘Where the Wind Comes From’ is an Involving Story of Friendship and the Pursuit of More
January 27, 2025Losing a home in a fire is a devastating occurrence, with much more than just physical property no longer accessible. California residents are currently experiencing this phenomenon with highly destructive wildfires still raging. Max Walker-Silverman’s sophomore feature centers on a different region of the United States also severely affected by vicious fires, telling the story of a Colorado man unsure of how to begin again after losing the generational family ranch that has meant everything to him for so long.
Rebuilding begins with Dusty (Josh O’Connor) arriving to a locked trailer that will now be his temporary residence courtesy of FEMA. It’s not much space to accommodate his daughter Callie Rose (Lily LaTorre), who most of the time lives with her mother Ruby (Meghann Fahy) and grandmother Bess (Amy Madigan) in town. As he attempts unsuccessfully to procure a loan to rebuild his ranch, Dusty connects with his new neighbors, including Mali (Kali Reis), who has a daughter who befriends Callie Rose and in many ways feels just as stuck as Dusty.
Walker-Silverman returns to Sundance following his debut feature A Love Song, a somewhat quieter but equally poignant film focused on an older generation. Dusty enjoys a cordial relationship with Bess and with Ruby’s new partner, and he seems to have lost his sense of direction along with his home. The cowboy hat he constantly wears indicates how much his home was interchangeable with his lifestyle, and the construction job he’s found to keep busy and pay the bills hardly offers him anywhere near the same level of satisfaction. His visit to the bank is particularly depressing since it’s a grueling reminder that it could take years for the land to prove fertile again and it could still easily be susceptible to fire in the future.
This is a tender, affecting film that comes from Walker-Silverman’s own experience losing his grandmother’s home. There’s not much concrete backstory offered other than conversations about things that might have been lost among the new community of displaced people. Initially reluctant to share, Dusty admits that what makes him saddest is that he won’t ever be sure about what he used to have and might forget that certain things ever existed. He wears and conveys a deep sense of melancholy, but he’s also so subdued and introverted that it feels as if he’s floating through life, showing up for his daughter in the best way that he can but no longer living for himself because he’s not the same person without his home.
This film will undoubtedly hit harder for many audiences who now have firsthand experiences with this kind of loss, but Walker-Silverman’s work stands on its own. It’s deeply emotional and manages to find the humanity and hope in each of its characters. Not seeing Dusty’s expansive property before it was destroyed is actually a productive choice since it means the way he talks about it is all those watching have to go on, allowing him to channel a passion that he doesn’t frequently exude for a place that meant so much to him. Seeing and hearing how his young daughter processes this new reality is also both informative and touching.
O’Connor, whose career after his Emmy-winning turn as the former Prince Charles on The Crown continues to take him back to quality independent cinema, delivers an appropriately reserved and compelling lead performance here. Dusty not being showy or self-pitying makes the character much more relatable, even if anyone in his shoes would have a right to be furious with the world. Reis, Fahy, and Madigan all contribute positively, but the real star here is LaTorre, who, in only her third credit, plays wonderfully off O’Connor and adds a different generation’s perspective to this trauma. Walker-Silverman has poured so much of himself into this meditative, heartfelt film, and it really shows.
Movie Rating: 8/10