Freebird

Raymond (Rain Dragon) offers an original, provocative, and intriguing story about a California family facing individual personal crises. Anne Singer is a Los Angeles municipal bureaucrat—lazy, bored, and unhappy. Her son, Aaron, is a 17-year-old pot-smoking slacker paid to take care of his grumpy Grandpa Sam, a Holocaust survivor. Anne’s brother, Ben, is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, a combat veteran now questioning the value and morality of his military service. Anne gets involved with a slick, pretentious pitchman’s proposal to buy all of L.A. County’s wastewater, “to become the world’s first used-water salesman.” The scheme is short on substance, and Anne knows it, but she is fascinated by the scam and wants in. Meanwhile, Aaron and Grandpa Sam go on a road trip to Oakland to retrieve a stash of Grandpa’s wartime gold, and Ben, discouraged and disillusioned by American greed and corruption, hatches a plan to kill his old boss. This is a powerful and tender family drama. Agent: Bill Clegg, the Clegg Agency. (Jan.)