UNTETHERED: A WILDLY DIFFERENT NORMAL is playing at SBIFF (Santa Barbara International Film Festival), and I had the opportunity to see an early look. Hereโs my spoiler-free take:
UNTETHERED is a documentary that starts off on a journey I couldnโt wait to embark on, and quickly gets โuntethered’ on a path I wasnโt as interested in. The film showcases a family that decides to sell everything and travel the world with three young kids. Itโs the โnew-ishโ American dream. The ideas behind having your family avoid books and learn from the world, while also slowing down to connect, are fantastic messages everyone should follow. And while the film follows that path, something happens about halfway through to derail its forward momentum.
After viewing UNTETHERED, I felt a mix of inspiration and curiosity. The film left me uplifted by the Bradleys’ courage to redefine their lives and challenged my own preconceptions of what a fulfilling life can be. I wanted to know more about Michaelโs (the husband’s) journey and where things are headed. However, in documentary filmmaking, youโre sometimes not afforded that since the story goes where the people in it take you. Rather than spend so much time in Ethiopia, I wanted the first and second acts of UNTETHERED to dive deeper and explore the Bradleys’ initial travel. Even more crucial was the moment halfway through; we needed to spend more time with them during COVID to learn how they were able to move forward.
If the โgreatest spiritual practice is letting go,โ I can let go of the fact that UNTETHERED didnโt fully explore what I wanted it to. And accept that, even in its current form, itโs a solid, inspiring documentary that will make audiences question whether a busy life is actually a poorer life than we think.
Final Thought: โSay yes to the whisper and the riskโ in seeing a documentary about a family that lives outside of their comfort zones. Itโs a worthy addition to the SBIFF documentary lineup, and one that has me researching even more ways I can support this for my family in the next 4-5 years.
UNTETHERED: A WILDLY DIFFERENT NORMAL premieres at SBIFF on Tues 2/10 – 12:20 PM
