Morrisa Maltz‘s new film Jazzy showcases the growth of young Jazzy from age six to twelve in a gentle and impressionistic way. The film beautifully captures the joys and pains of youth through the lens of childhood friendships and the challenges of growing up. 
While not the focus of Jazzy, Lily Gladstone sets up the film for a poetic conclusion with a montage that lays you flat when you least expect it.
A Snapshots of an Overlooked America
In Morrisa Maltz’s The Unknown Country, we frequently slowed down to take in the stories of people that many other filmmakers would overlook. Each had a life that we got a snapshot of as Maltz provided a brief yet critical glimpse into their day-to-day existence before continuing along the road. 
Her spiritual successor to that film, the gently somber yet quietly joyous Jazzy, brings this same ethos and gives it a larger canvas.
The Life of Jasmine ‘Jazzy’
Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux plays Jasmine ‘Jazzy’ Bearkiller Shangreaux, a young Oglala Lakota girl living in South Dakota who grows into her future under the eye of executives like Lily Gladstone and fellow filmmakers Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn. It’s a film that captures the process of growing up with little in the way of conventional plotting or passage of time, opting instead for a natural flow. Maltz, alongside her co-writers Vanara Taing, Andrew Hajek, and Jazzy’s mother, Lainey Shangreaux, crafts an illuminating if imperfect portrait of youth.
Growing Up on Screen
This first begins with a birthday party where we see Jazzy going through small rituals of celebration, blowing out candles, and spending time with her parents. Rarely do we see adults in this world; save for some notable faces near the end; this is all about the kids and their experiences. As Jazzy walks down her community’s streets, we meet her best friend Syriah Fool Head Means before the school bus arrives. Throughout, there are endearing moments involving dorky but lovable kids discussing life and playing recorders as they run through snow.
Painful Moments Looming Large
Painful moments await as idyllic scenes like Jazzy jumping on a trampoline with Syriah are juxtaposed with reflections on economic precarity awaiting adulthood. Maltz captures these evolving dynamics without falling into saccharine territory. When Syriah moves away, memories become precious archives of lost innocence.
The Fragile Bonds of Friendship
The unraveling friendship between Jazzy and Syriah evokes comparisons to films like The Banshees of Inisherin, highlighting the poignant realization that formative years cannot last forever. Both young actors excel without overplaying scenes, inhabiting natural rhythms disrupted by change.
A Poignant Conclusion with Familiar Faces
The final sequence transcends its framing by introducing more adult perspectives during poignant moments, signifying Jazzy’s transition into adulthood. Including familiar faces like Raymond Lee and Richard Ray Whitman enriches this thematic shift.
The Earnest Closer
Lily Gladstone reprising her role as Tana injects a graceful depth into the conclusion as we witness Jazzy looking up at the sky, ready to face adulthood head-on despite its daunting expanse. This closing montage underscores how far we’ve traveled emotionally and temporally throughout the film.
An Illumination of Youthful Growth
Morrisa Maltz‘s Jazzy stands as an exploration into childhood expansion – sentimental yet grounded – ensuring its place among thoughtful coming-of-age films.
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