Yannis Veslemes’s (The Field Guide to Evil) newest film, She Loved Blossoms More, has the aesthetic of what I assume being on acid would be like, however the come down from it is devastating and beautiful, making this psychedelic journey a haunting and gorgeous adventure that could arguably have been inspired by the works of Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things; The Killing of a Sacred Deer). She Loved Blossoms More is an engaging interdimensional trip that focuses on grief and exploration.
She Loved Blossoms More focuses on three brothers, named Japan, Dummy, and Hedgehog (Julio Katsis, Panos Papadopulos, and Aris Balis), as they’re trying to figure out how their time machine closet works. They are doing everything in their power to ensure it can safely transport matter without having Cronenbergian effects as they want to travel back in time to be with their mother who passed away. However, after multiple attempts (including one with a pig that gets turned inside out), they’ve reached a wall and cannot seem to break the code. Willing to try one last thing, they bring a chicken and only stick its head into the closet to see if they would be able to crack the code, but what happens is simply that the chicken’s head disappears to, apparently, a different dimension where the brothers now believe their mother resides.
Sandra Abuelghanam as Samantha in SHE LOVED BLOSSOMS MORE. Photo courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival.
Things start to get more and more engaging and trying as Samantha (Sandra Abuelghanam Sarafanova) comes into the picture, first flirting with Hedgehog, but then intrigued and unphased by what the brothers are up to. While the brothers’ interest in finding and returning to their mother grows, Hedgehog does something unthinkable and tries to transport Samantha. Things certainly do not go the way that was planned, and chaos truly becomes the focal point of She Loved Blossoms More, creating a tense world for the audience that is certainly not for the squeamish.
The script penned by both Dimitris Emmanouilidis (Approach) and Veslemes explores grief in a way that hasn’t always been seen on film. Exploring grief by means of time travel or teleportation to other dimensions brings its own challenges simply because it leaves the paradox of do we/don’t we give the audience a glimmer of hope. While it is evident that their device does not exactly work, hope certainly is still flickering during the film, and is held solely by the cast themselves. Katsis (Holy Emy), Papadopoulos (The Field Guide to Evil), and Balis (Mare Nostrum) are all excellent in showing each of the brothers being pushed beyond their bounds and almost to their respective breaking points in trying to find their mother and get back to her or regenerate her, ultimately unable come to terms that they’ve dedicated so much of their life to this failing endeavour.
She Loved Blossoms More takes the age-old tale of grief and how we as humans adjust to it, and explores those depths in a new way. The cast brings forth everything in their arsenal to create a tense drama focused around time/interdimensional travel, which is hinted at and doesn’t get fully explored and fails to be actualized. It is more interesting than just fleshing out time travel and, thusly, creates a world where the audience sits at the edge of their seats to see if these brothers can ever see their mother again. She Loved Blossoms More is the acid trip you never know you needed, but one that is certainly welcomed and engaging.
Screening during Tribeca Film Festival 2024.
In theaters, on VOD, and digital October 3rd, 2025.
For more information, head either to the official She Loved Blossoms More Tribeca 2024 webpage or film website.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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