Jimpa at Luna

Dylan (Kanea Blockland), Lou (Len Leo Vincent), Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde), Isa (Zoë Love Smith), Bis (Jean Janssens) in Jimpa
Photo Credit: Mark De Blo

On a rather hot day in Perth, I wandered down to Luna Leederville to watch Jimpa.

The story of Jimpa revolves around the complexities of the interrelationships between 3 generations of a queer family: Frances, a coming of age non-binary teenager (Aud Mason-Hyde); their mum Hannah (Olivia Colman); and Frances’ grandpa Jimpa (John Lithgow).

Jimpa is a modern story covering some of the challenges faced by each of the main characters: Frances is excited with the idea of broadening their horizons by shifting to Amsterdam from Adelaide; Hannah is juggling her film-making career, family duties and her relationship with her elderly father whom she has learnt not to rely on too much for various reasons; and Jimpa – a gay man in Amsterdam who has lived a full life and is now facing the issues of ageing.

A number of interesting topics are addressed in Jimpa, including the multiple hats that we all wear in our lives, generational conflicts, parenting and ageing parental challenges, recognition and discoveries of sexuality and gender identity, and their impact on the relationships with other family members.

Jimpa is a heartfelt and tender movie – the audience is exposed to the different inner thoughts of the key characters and some key events that occur – adding more layers to the interplay and dynamics of the family as the story narrative progresses.

Directed by Sophie Hyde and co-written with Matthew Cormack (both of 52 Tuesdays which was another excellent movie), it rolls with the times in tackling some of the issues of identity and the choices that we make in our modern day lives – of self – of who we are – and how we would like to be seen by others – in this case a very fresh Frances testing their identity as they transition from a teenager to adult and is exposed to new life experiences. 

Jimpa will appeal to those who enjoy a contemporary family drama – with the central theme of a non binary teenager coming of age – and the complexities surrounding the lives of family members, each with their own personal challenges in life to navigate.

Jimpa opens at Luna on 19 February.

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