Debut: ‘A Good Start’ A Breath Of Fresh Air

Scientists and doctors across the globe make it a point to let women in their youth know that pregnancy after the age of thirty-five is a non-starter, and women are on a clock that starts from the time they get their first period. The sentiment is often, “Sure, you can try, but be prepared for disappointment,” and it is even worse if that woman is going to be a single mother. Of course, that does not stop the will of women; many have tried, and many do succeed. In the case of A Good Start by Sarah Blok, the audience is brought into an intimate late-night encounter of a struggling new mom who does succeed and happens to be a late bloomer in the realm of motherhood. With themes of reflection and regret, this film explores what it means to stand by one’s life-changing decisions, and how you never really know what you wish for. 

There are transitional periods that everyone goes through; sometimes they are big phases of someone's life, and sometimes they are just the small car ride from the grocery store to your house. The point is, not every experience that teaches you or changes you is a big moment or caused by thrilling action. Sometimes the thing that changes you is a conversation with passersby or an interaction with a cashier at the checkout. Sarah Blok captures the intimacy that comes from those moments and presents them to the audience. 

This film is presented as a low and slow simmer, a blink and you'll miss it. There is nothing thrilling about this film, nothing that makes you run to your friends and say, " This film blew my mind.” However, this film is one that sits with you at a dimly lit bus stop where you contemplate your purpose and if you're doing anything right. 

The film presents the audience with a redheaded mother, a baby, and two male strangers. Names are never exchanged, and little is said throughout this film, but somehow there is a shift at the end. In the beginning, there was darkness, in visuals and feelings. The mother seemed hopeless; nobody was truly helping her with her child (which was her choice). The audience sees her in a reflective state, crying and pondering on her life's choices. Two male strangers coming home from a party end up helping her keep the baby distracted long enough for her to change and swaddle the baby to sleep. In the end, the sun is coming up, the strangers leave, and the mother is alone again, but in a better place than at the start.

There is something very raw and stripped about this film. Blok included dialogue between the two males that doesn't really have much to do with the advancement of the plot, but upon a second watch, the conscience is, it doesn't have to. After all, these are strangers to the mother, and they have their own thing going on before meeting the mother. The style is seemingly a slice of life, and in the end, the audience is left with more questions than answers. Regardless of that, this film is far from unnecessary. 

Oftentimes, current films will have the audience conditioned to believe there has to be an overarching plot that every scene has to serve by the end of the film. This film proves that notion wrong and forces the audience to sit for a second and breathe in a plot that doesn’t really move, but still affects you. It starts to feel less like a film with production aspects and more like a documentation of real life. 

Sara Blok didn't just make a film; she brought the audience to an intimate meeting between a mother and two strangers that may have been viewed as a transitional moment for them, but also served as a reflection point for the audience. No matter the choice in your life, whether that be single motherhood or not, there is going to be a point where you have to sit with your choices and reflect on how they affect you. This film captures what reflection might look like for the average person and should be viewed with an open mind and relaxed disposition.