When I’m a Moth

With sensitivity and a dreamy visual style, When I’m a Moth fictionalizes a moment in Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life when different paths could have been taken, while others seem destined. In the summer of 1969, Hillary (a brilliant Addison Timlin) finds herself working at a cannery in Alaska. When she meets two Japanese fishermen - Ryohei (TJ Kayama) and Mitsuru (Toshiji Takeshima) - and strikes up an intimate friendship with one of them, she experiences anxiety about her immediate future, while remaining sure of her ambition for public office. It is hard to imagine a young Hillary bounding off-road in the outskirts of Alaska, but the essence of a young Clinton is perfectly captured by Timlin - giving the character a familiar vocal inflection as she delivers deeply introspective answers to simple questions, while at the same time showing how she’s imbibing the heady atmosphere of the late ‘60s. Paired perfectly with the stoic and tender Ryohei, Hillary is tempted by this new relationship, but like the titular creature drawn to a light, she knows her ultimate calling. Co-directed by writer/directors Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak, When I’m a Moth takes a seldom-discussed time and place in Clinton’s life and beautifully imagines the details. (San Francisco International Film Festival)