Sundance Review: “Sukkwan Island” is a Father-Son Story with Strong Performances

by Abe Friedtanzer

Unconventional father-son relationships are a hallmark of film and television. A poor or nonexistent early dynamic transforms into something much more intimate and still potentially complicated as the son comes into adulthood and sees the father in a considerably different light. Sukkwan Island finds its father-son duo living life far from anyone else, alone in a cabin on an island for a year to make up for lost time and catch up on the chance to get to know each other after missing out for so many years…

Sukkwan Island actually begins with an adult Roy (Ruaridh Mollica) showing up at the home of Anna (Alma Pöysti) in the wake of his father’s death, asking her to bring him by seaplane to the cabin they shared for one very memorable year on the isolated Sukkwan Island. As soon as they land, the film flashes back to a young Roy (Woody Norman) living with his mother Elizabeth (Tuppence Middleton), meeting his father Tom (Swann Arlaud) at a diner, and then landing on that same seaplane to discover this cabin surrounded by incredible beauty. It’s a tumultuous year, to say the least, but with no one else to talk to, it’s the ultimate chance to bond.

This is the second feature from director Vladimir de Fontenay following 2017’s Cannes selection Mobile Homes. For a movie with a very small cast, he still pulls from a very interesting array of past projects. Mollica was at Sundance last year with Sebastian, and earned a British Independent Film Award nomination for his role. Pöysti was a Surprise Golden Globe nominee for Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves. Norman broke out a few years ago opposite Joaquin Phoenix in C’mon C’mon. Swann Arlaud was part of last year’s Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall. And Middleton might be most recognizable to audiences for the Downton Abbey films.

Choosing these very specific people helps ensure that this relatively quiet drama works. Audiences will likely feel similar to Roy, who initially seems excited by the opportunity to live pretty much off the grid but is less impressed by his father’s CD collection. At first, they get to explore the island and share moments together, but as time goes on, it becomes clear that there may be a reason Tom wanted to get away from civilization. When a bear finds their cabin and destroys most of what’s inside, including the only way they have to communicate with anyone else, things start to get grim, and the way in which Tom handles further unexpected developments gives his son great reason for concern.

Arlaud is the best reason to watch this film, conveying so deeply that Tom wants to spend time with his son but struggling to show him in the best manner. It’s not that he wants to push him to be manly but instead to teach him to survive off the land and to learn through action, not education or observation. That this isolation from society is self-imposed is channeled into Norman’s performance since Roy is up for this adventure but has far more moments of pause than his father, who simply sweeps them under the rug and urges them to keep going. Based on a story by David Vann, who had his own tempestuous, formative relationship with his father, this film boasts strong performances but doesn’t always know where it wants to go. It packs an emotional punch at its end but sometimes gets lost along the way, taking in all the surroundings but unable to completely fill its 114-minute runtime with compelling content. B-

Sukkwan Island makes its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.