Jules is an odd duck of a movie. In some ways, it’s kind of adjacent to a Wes Anderson movie… but not as artsy (you’d never confuse a single frame of it with anything Anderson shoots). It is similar in how it approaches human behavior around the odd and unusual. But it’s also far more human and earthy than anything Anderson would film. So it’s not really like a Wes Anderson film at all… except it kind of is.

The flick stars Ben Kingsley as an old man who is mildly concerned about his small town’s slogan, the lack of crosswalks, and the UFO that has crashed in his back yard. When a little alien crawls out of the ship, he brings it a blanket and water.

This movie is gently human, charming, and funny. It’s an absurd situation and nobody quite acts how a real person would act… but they also kind of act in an aspirational way. This isn’t a film about fear, uncertainty, and doubt… but about kindness, compassion, and concern.

It’s also kind of incidentally a movie about an alien since, thematically, its more about family and what it means to grow old. The fact there’s an aloof alien hanging around allows him to represent whatever worries or thoughts the elderly humans feel. I was moved by singular moments of humanity just as much as I was about the plight of the silent ET.

Jules is a quirky, odd little film that made me laugh and smile wistfully at its humanity. I think it’s special and admirable, though possibly a little too gentle and unassuming for some (plus cat lovers might get upset).

Score: 86