Narrative Competition film Burma shows how easy it is to transition from loving and supporting to trenchant and stinging when family’s involved.

When the Lynn siblings are visited by their estranged father, their precarious familial détente is upended … then shaken … then tossed down a rocky hill. It doesn’t help that the three grown kids have each decided to deal with their paternal abandonment differently. The middle child, Christian (Girls‘ Christopher Abbott), takes the angry route, the oldest daughter, Susan (Gaby Hoffman), opts to ignore him, and the youngest, Win (Dan Bittner), forgives him in a flash. One would think the father’s pragmatism would aid the reunion, but the situation might be past the point of no return. There are tried and true indie film tropes in writer/director Carlos Puga’s feature debut, but the siblings read as relatable humans, and that goes a long way for film focused on character more than plot.

Burma screens again today (3/11), 3:45pm, Violet Crown and Wednesday, March 13, 11:30am, Violet Crown.

This article appears in March 8 • 2013.

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James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.