In the Family

Martin, Tennessee. Chip is six and has been raised by two fathers, Cody and Joey. Cody dies in a car accident. Joey is the man raising the boy but legally he is nothing; Cody's will named his sister as Chip's guardian. Chip is taken away. The family that spent years accepting Joey comes apart in a day. The law is not on his side. Rather than go to court, Joey looks for another route, and it runs through talking to the other side. Patrick Wang directs the American film; two hours and forty-nine minutes, playing Joey himself. It was his first film, and when no distributor would take it he put it into cinemas himself. It is shot in long takes with the camera never moving in close; there is no shouting match and no raised voice.