Institute History
Description
Joel Hopkins returns to the Sundance Film Festival with his first feature, Jump Tomorrow (aka Joel Hopkins Untitled), based on his acclaimed short Jorge that screened in the 1999 Film Festival. Each film stars the magnificent Tunde Adebimpe as George, a shy and awkward introvert who is following the path of tradition, leading to an arranged marriage with a childhood friend from Nigeria. He begins to question his destiny after an encounter with Alicia (Natalia Verbeke), a stunning Latin woman on her own shaky path to wedlock with an erudite Englishman, her former professor. On the road to their dubious futures, they are thrust together with Gerard (Hippolyte Girardot), a boisterous and lovesick Frenchman, in his 1960s Citroen. Emotions come to a boiling point when the foursome stop at Alicia's mother's house, a delightfully warm household where passions and intuition run high. The result is a magical transformation of loves and lives.
Hopkins displays an amazing ability to garner markedly refined performances from the actors in storybook situations that render the characters extremely warm and human. The universal themes of self-discovery and the quest for love are adeptly expressed by exploring them within a diverse mix of racial and cultural backgrounds.
Jump Tomorrow is a multilayered romantic comedy that works on all levels. Notable performances and exquisite attention to minute details make for an enchanting tale that is a wonderful throwback to the days when love (at least in the movies) conquered all.