Nowhere Near

In No Data Plan, Miko Revereza documented an Amtrak ride across America, reflecting on his experience as an undocumented immigrant. With Nowhere Near — the culmination of several years of shooting, editing, relocation, and contemplation — Revereza traces his disillusionment and likely permanent departure from the United States, eventually making his way to Oaxaca by way of Manila. In each locale, he experiences and deliberates on a complicated and at times contradictory sense of home, navigates relationships with loved ones, and tests the limits of art to represent such monumental transitions.

In a further refinement of the diaristic style Revereza honed with his shorts and first feature, the early passages of the film are transfixing in their rhythmic, kinetic, and near free-form assemblage, abetted by sophisticated sound design and a rich score. It’s work that takes its time and permits various detours — a remembrance of the filmmaker’s youth in post-9/11 USA, the excavation of a family curse, consideration of the US occupation of the Philippines — but feels uniquely cumulative.

It is also a rare work of critical self-reflection; Revereza is open about the changes to his approach to filmmaking during the years it took to complete Nowhere Near, and the distance he feels from his younger self. It’s an acknowledgement that manifests in a moving, final third that sees a pronounced but considered lyrical shift from the film’s established form. Raw and moving, Nowhere Near is Revereza’s most accomplished project to date, work born out of uncertainty but culminating in a place of growth and determination.

ANDRÉA PICARD

Official Selection, 2023 Toronto International Film Festival