What to watch: father-son story hits home in Paper Bag Plan'

"Paper Bag Plan: Oakland native Anthony Lucero's exceptional follow-up to his indie sweetheart East Side Sushi will likewise melt hearts and sooth aching souls. Lucero's beautiful film is filled with empathy, insight and compassion as functioning alcoholic dad Oscar (Lance Kinsey, giving one of the most graceful performances of the year) seeks ways to make his quick-witted 25-year-old disabled son Billy (Cole Massie, in a phenomenal performance) more self-sufficient due to his own dire health diagnosis."

"While such a scenario sounds potentially maudlin and manipulative, Lucero who wrote the film from a personal place never allows that to happen by making the characters complex and flawed, and laboring under real-life issues. That realistic sensitivity and the performances from the two leads make the tears flow in particular one perfect ending sequence. But these tears are earned, not provoked."

"Lucero is a rare voice in filmmaking right now, a director who shows enormous compassion and empathy for working-class characters. We need more movies like Paper Bag Plan one of the best indie films of 2025 and more filmmakers like Lucero. Details: 3 stars; opens Sept. 12 at the Grand Lake Theater, Oakland and the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael; and on Sept. 19 at Cinelux Almaden Cafe & Lounge, San Jose. Lucero will be on hand for Q&As after the 6:45 p.m. screenings Sept. 12 and 13 at the Grand Lake and following the 7 p.m. Sept. 18 scre"

Oakland native Anthony Lucero directed Paper Bag Plan as a follow-up to East Side Sushi. The film centers on Oscar, a functioning alcoholic and caregiver, who seeks ways to make his quick-witted 25-year-old disabled son Billy more self-sufficient after Oscar receives a dire health diagnosis. Oscar proposes that Billy train for a grocery store bagger job with neighborhood support. The characters are complex and flawed, grounded in real-life issues rather than sentimentality. Performances by Lance Kinsey and Cole Massie are praised for grace and depth. The film earns genuine emotional payoff, especially in its ending sequences. Screening details and Q&As accompany select showings.

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