"Alma's Rainbow" 4K Restoration - Film Review
Alma’s Rainbow has been restored by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation in stunning 4K. The film was first released in 1994 and has been heralded as an essential, but often forgotten, entry into the coming-of-age genre.
In many ways, Alma’s Rainbow is just as relevant today as it was in 1994. The film centers on the women of the Gold family. Alma (Kim Weston-Mora) is the strict matriarch, Rainbow (Victoria Gabrielle Platt) is her daughter, and Ruby (Mizan Kirby) is Alma’s free-spirited sister who has been living in Paris for years. Alma runs a successful salon that’s celebrating its ten-year anniversary. During the celebratory party, Ruby makes an unannounced return.
All of the women are at different phases of their lives. Rainbow is a teenager who is becoming aware of her interest in boys. Alma has established herself in the community and staunchly believes that she doesn't want a romantic partner. Ruby moves through the world without much concern about how her actions affect the people in her life. Alma and Ruby are at odds about what constitutes the right way to live their lives and about how to guide Rainbow to live hers.
Kino Lorber and Milestone Films
Alma’s Rainbow feels special in its simplicity. It’s a family comedy-drama that effortlessly moves between the two genres in the way real families move between laughter and tears. An authentic nostalgia radiates from the screen, even though the restoration makes the colors clear and vibrant. There isn’t enough praise in the world to adequately describe the beauty of the film in its restored state.
So much of filmmaking is about the effort that goes into creation. The initial idea for a script, the writing of that script, the acting, the lights, the sound design, the make-up, the costumes, the list can go on forever. In this regard, each film’s existence is nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps more important than the act of production is the act of preservation. Filmmaking is storytelling. A chance for people to put some version of their lives on film and for it to reach beyond their world, through time and space. If we, both as individuals and as a society, want to make sense of our future, we have to know where we came from. Preserving films also demonstrates that some experiences are universal and eternal. That, no matter the era, humans have always had dreams, felt misunderstood by their parents, and tried their best to make sense of this indescribable world. Alma’s Rainbow is timeless.
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