Brain Freeze is a brilliant film which deals in the themes revolving around romance, identity, adolescence, and growing up. In only 15 minutes, it packs an emotional gut-wrenching punch. Every time I see it, I connect with it emotionally more and more.

When we’re adolescents, some of the things that seem so life-and-death really aren’t as big as we thought them to be. We don’t always realize the brevity of the situation, as we’re so caught up in our own lives we fail to see the troubles of others. There’s a block that our subconscious puts on us in order to prevent realization. In the latter segment of the film, there’s a part where Carrie and Rae are talking on the beach side and Rae asks if Carrie was jealous when she was with her girlfriend. Carrie then responds saying something along the lines of “I don’t know, I’d never really thought of that”. In the affirmation of Carrie herself admitting her bisexuality to Rae, the possibility of such a thing emerges. Maybe she really was jealous and wanted more of Rae to herself. It is these kinds of films that remind me, once we find a person we love to be around and want to spend the rest of our lives with (romantically and/or platonically), to hang on tight and never let them go.

I see some similarities in this film to Richard Linklater’s Before films. The reuniting with people of our past is what helps us realize things about ourselves. There’s a kind of rediscovery we go through, as in discussing with them we look at the events of our past with them differently. As Carrie mentions in the car while eating chicken nuggets and eating ice cream, it is only until later in life that we slowly start to unravel our feathers and become a full-fledged person. There are things we can’t possibly know at 18 that we would perhaps come to learn around 25. Our character is developed through experience, Brain Freeze makes this very clear by displaying the contrast of one’s self in different times of life. And despite leaving off on a rather melancholic note considering there’s nothing definite about the future of their relationship, one cannot help but see and appreciate the innate sense of beauty and nostalgia that comes along with memory in this film.

Similar to that of films like Aftersun and Call Me By Your Name, Brain Freeze creates a sense of solace. Albeit our past not entirely positive and happy, one can’t help but yearn and wish for a return to the past. Carrie misses the time in high school where she could spend every waking moment with Rae, it’s not the same without her. Along with a yearning for the past there also comes a fear of growing up. When we’re young we wish we were older, but when we get to the “older” we feel as if we were younger. “I still feel 18, but I don’t feel the same way as when I was 18”, Rae says. It seems many feel the same, and the feeling doesn’t go away for a long time. I like to think that the visually short-lived rekindling of their friendship is what helps them return to their past, even if for a little while. Unfortunately, one cannot stay unpresent forever. When it’s time to leave, Carrie sits on her seat in the boat, again yearning for Rae. She imagines Rae right next to her, leaning on her shoulder. But there’s nothing we can do, we’re confronted with reality and are forced to keep moving forward. That’s all we can do. And although we’re leaving our past behind, there's beauty in the future, in the unknown. As such, Brain Freeze Director Kelsey Comeau and her team have created such a wonderfully vivid film, including all that comes with adolescence in such a visceral way.

Brain Freeze screens at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival on Sunday, June 2 as part of Shorts Program #1. The film will be available for screening online for 24 hours on this day and will then be shown in-person at 5:00 PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Tickets are available for purchase here.

The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in association with the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies, presents the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival which marks its 29th Anniversary. The NJIFF competition will be taking place on the Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between May 31 - June 9, 2024 and will be a hybrid one with online as well as in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date.  Note: The Screenings on June 1 will be in Milledoler Hall #100/ Rutgers University, 520 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ.  Plus, The NJIFF is very proud to announce that acclaimed singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler will be in concert on Saturday, June 15 in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ at 7PM.  General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program.; General Admission Marissa Nadler Concert Ticket=$25. For more info go here: https://2024newjerseyinternationalfilmfestival.eventive.org/welcome