In 2016, the young talented actor Anton Yelchin was taken away from the world at just 27 years old. Three years later, friends, family, and former co-stars gathered to celebrate the late actor and his legacy with the documentary film Love, Antosha.
While a lot of posthumous films tend to be very emotional and are never easy to watch, there is something about this one that hits differently. Behind it all stand Yelchin’s parents Irina and Victor Yelchin alongside producer Drake Doremus and first-time director Garret Price.
“It was very hard because before we gave all the material that we collected from the archives, we looked at it and it wasn’t easy but we understood that we had to do it and it didn’t matter how hard it was,” shared Victor Yelchin on the red carpet. As for Irina, she mentions that “talking about Anton in the past is incredibly hard.”
Nonetheless, their mission with the film was to inspire and showcase the person Anton was. Their vision was coming from a place of love which is very evident throughout the entire film. Not only do we hear from his Star-Trek co-stars Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, and Simon Pegg, but also other stars like Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Jodie Foster. At one point Kristen Stewart mentions Anton breaking her heart in the sweetest way and how nervous she felt around him because she thought he was cool, intelligent, and talented.
The documentary also highlights something most might not have known: his battle with Cystic Fibrosis. To keep him from worrying, his early diagnosis was kept hidden from his parents until he was a teenager. Though there were times his symptoms poked through, he never let it get the best of him or in the way of his successful acting career.
Something that I found unique about this, which, Irina also brought up on the carpet, was the fact that it feels like Anton is retelling his own story. “It feels like Anton is in every shot. If he’s not talking then he’s acting. He’s the lead character in the film despite so many stars are talking about him in the film it feels like he’s still there,” said Irina.
To make things even better, the entire documentary is framed around letters that Anton would write to his family and they are narrated by none other than Nicholas Cage. He was the top choice for the Yelchins as they felt it was someone Anton would be down with.
What Garret Price said on the red carpet are words that couldn’t be any more true. “This movie is about life not death.” Anton Yelchin’s life will always be remembered and his legacy will continue to carry on not just with those that were close to him but with many around the world.
Love, Antosha hits theaters in Los Angeles friday August 2nd and in New York on August 9th.
