Something remarkable happened to me while I was watching Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet . I went into my screening at the Toronto International Film Festival with high expectations, having heard so much praise out of the movie’s prior premiere at Telluride. Everyone I knew who had seen it had cried over it, but I have a history of not crying at movies. I don’t know why, I just don’t tear up easily.

During the final scene of Hamnet , I went from calmly watching with a fair amount of investment to gasping for breath as tears filled my eyes and my chin wobbled. The full force of everything I had just watched hit me like a speeding train, and all I could do was let it wash over me. Zhao has pulled off something incredibly special here .

Hamnet Is A Tale Of Love And Grief, Sensitively Told

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