TUESDAY
2023 | 110min | A24, BBC Film, BFI & Cinereach
A mother-daughter fairytale..
REVIEWS:
“…utterly strange and profound and beautiful (and hilarious?) Just a work that could not come from ANY other soul but that filmmaker. A deeply moving film that will linger and linger. My goodness….like… you read the synopsis for this thing and then you sit down and, even being familiar with her shorts, you realize this is NOT what you thought it would be. Totally singular. A complete triumph by Daina O. Pusić.” - Barry Jenkins
“A remarkable and assured first feature.” - Wendy Ide for The Observer
“Pusic, who was first in Telluride with her 2015 short The Beast, shows an assured command of her story, including balancing the tone of a unique tale about a familiar and universal subject that by the end hits us right in the heart and soul. — impressive achievement of a filmmaker who, based on this, is undoubtedly one to look out for in the coming years.” - Pete Hammond for Deadline
“-the performances, the tone, and the life-or-death subject matter, experienced shorts director Pusic has given her debut her all, and observers will take note. - - Sometimes it’s not always clear why a director has made a particular film, but that’s never the case here. Tuesday isn’t safe: it walks a tightrope from beginning to end and Pusic keeps her entire crew on it, through an escalating series of ambitious scenarios. We’ll be hearing more from her.” - Fionnuala Halligan for Screendaily
"…strange combination of body horror, fairy tale, domestic drama and apocalypse thriller. It is weird and transfixing — never predictable and never boring. Louis-Dreyfus is both chilling and deeply empathetic as this woman who has been paralyzed by grief even before it’s happened. She seems to be preparing for her own death in a way, unable and unwilling to process a life without her daughter who, at this point, doesn’t even realize that her mother still loves her. Petticrew holds their own, going head-to-head with Louis-Dreyfus at her cruelest, exhibiting a wisdom beyond their years and fitting of a person who’s had to grow up and face death far too early. …. a cathartic affair, whether death is top of mind at the moment or not. And it announces the arrival of a daring filmmaker worth following.” - Lindsey Bahr for Associated Press
“…unusually beautiful wise and weird heartbreaker of a debut, that bird won’t shut up since he’s taken a shine to the ready-to-accept her death Tuesday. Magical realism obviously perseveres over traditional storytelling, ensuring that Oniunas-Pusić’s vision isn’t for all, especially movie fans raised on a meat-and-potatoes cinematic diet. But those willing to go there, “Tuesday” offers numerous rewards, including two amazing lead performances and a thoughtful discourse on acceptance of our mortality.” - Randy Myers for San Jose Mercury News
“Never before have I laughed and cried so much in a movie about dying.” - Kaely Mohanan for Arizona Republic
NYT Critic’s Pick: “--striking special effects and a richly textured sound design lend a cosmic chill to a simple story of maternal grief. --this compassionate fairy tale works because the actors are so in sync and the imagery — as in one shot of the bird curled like an apostrophe in a dead woman’s tear duct — is often magical. The sum is a highly imaginative picture that, while considering one family’s pain, also asks us to ponder the possibility that a life without end means nothing less than a world without a future.” - Jeannette Catsoulis for New York Times
“Instead of resting on tried-and-true laurels, “Tuesday” spirals in strange and transformative directions, using Zora’s desperate reaction to Death coming for her daughter as a launching pad for surreal imagery and pained understanding. Daina O. Pusíc conjures magic out of this story, embracing the difficult with disquieting ease. The film’s steadfast commitment to inventing new images to illustrate ancient concepts pays off. There are moments when “Tuesday” evokes a live-action Studio Ghibli film, albeit one of the downbeat ones.” - William Bibbiani for The Wrap
“A film of tremendous emotion, spirit, and paradoxically restraint and ambition.” - Kyle Turner for Slant
writer & director DAINA O. PUSIć | producers HELEN GLADDERS, OLIVER ROSKILL & IVANA MacKINNON | director of photography ALEXIS ZABE | production designer LAURA ELLIS CRICKS | costume designer JO THOMPSON | sound designer GUNNAR ÓSKARSSON | composer ANNA MEREDITH | vfx supervisors MIKE STILLWELL & ANDREW SIMMONDS | vfx producer & co-producer TIM FIELD | starring JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, LOLA PETTICREW, LEAH HARVEY & ARINZE KENé
FESTIVALS:
WORLD PREMIERE at the 50th TELLURIDE International Film Festival 2023 | NOMINATED for the SUTHERLAND AWARD (BEST FIRST FEATURE) at the the 67th BFI London Film Festival 2023 | Miami Int. Film Festival 2024 | Marrakesh Int. Film Festival 2023 | Boston Independent Film Festival 2024 | Sonoma Int. Film Festival 2024 | Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival 2024 | Minneapolis St. Paul Int. Film Festival 2024 | Florida Film Festival 2024 | Boston Independent Film Festival 2024 | Berkshire Film Festival 2024 | Cinetopia Film Festival 2024 | Mediterrane Film Festival 2024
AWARDS:
LONGLISTED for DEBUT DIRECTOR and DEBUT SCREENWRITER at the British Independent Film Awards 2024.