next year - is the excellent chance you’ll be moved or entertained by a film you know nothing about.
Take “The New Year Parade.”
It’s a little gem of a movie about a family that seems to be coming apart - and the bonds that hold it, and so many families, together.
It revolves around the annual Mummer’s Parade in Philadelphia - where marching bands dress up in the wildest costumes and compete for top prizes.
Dad and son are in the same working class band, the South Philadelphia String Band, a real band, a 13th place band. But dad’s marriage is falling apart because his wife cheated on him. Son wants to leave the band - and, maybe, dad. Teen daughter is caught in the middle - and trying to find herself as she discovers boys.
How strong are the bonds between a father and son? Between a mother and daughter? And how do you know what to do when you’re a kid who feels so alone?
They’re all big questions raised by this wonderfully compact movie.
“The New Year Parade” also will be shown Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck.
Steve Israel