Omaha (2026), I Swear (2026), Half Nelson (2006)

Indie Film Weekly
Episode 71: Omaha (2026), I Swear (2026), Half Nelson (2006)

Glen Reynolds spotlights several new and engaging independent films playing in theaters, available for purchase or rental, or on a streaming platform. He also shares a classic movie from his favorites which you'll want to revisit or see for the first time.

Additional movies mentioned in this episode include:
Two Seasons, Two Strangers (2026)
Between Two Temples (2024)

Recorded: 04-17-26
Studio: Just Curious Media
Companies: Circus Road Films & Indie Igniter

Listen:
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Watch:
YouTube

Host:
Glen Reynolds

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Transcript

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Welcome back to Indie Film Weekly for the week of April 24th, 2026. I'm your host, Glenn Reynolds. This week in theaters, we've got a father dragging his two kids across the American West in a trip that's clearly not what he tells them it is. We've got a true story about a kid in the 1980s Britain whose Tourette's makes him a target, then turns him into a force. And we've got a Japanese drama built like two linked seasons where writing, travel, and chance encounters start to feel like the same thing. Buy the ticket while these movies are actually in theaters. That opening weekend number is the difference between a one-week run and a real run. On demand, I'm spotlighting a comedy drama about a cantor who loses his voice after grief, then gets thrown off balance by an adult bot mitzvah student with her own agenda. And for our classic, we're going back to a 2006 indie that captures how quickly a classroom can turn into a confessional. This episode of Indie Film Weekly is brought to you by Circus Road Films, helping independent filmmakers find their audience since 2006. Learn more at CircusRodefilms.com. Let's dive in. Our first indie film in theaters this week is Omaha. Directed by Cole Webley, it follows a dad who wakes his two young kids before sunrise, loads the car, and says they're going on a trip. The year is 2008, and the kids treat it like an inventor at first. Motel pools, roadside snacks, and long stretches of highway where you make up games because there's nothing else to do. Their father, played by John McGuro, tries to keep the mood light, but his energy is off. He's distracted, jumpy, and constantly making little detours that don't add up. As the miles stack, the kids begin to realize the trip has a hidden purpose, and that the adults have been living inside a crisis the children were never told how to name. The movie is built around that slow reveal, not as a twist for the audience, but as a shift in what the kids can finally see. Molly Bell Wright and Wyatt Salt are terrific as the siblings, because they feel like real kids, curious, funny, and then quietly scared when the rules change. Webley shoots the West with space and empty horizons, which makes the family feel small in a way that's honest. This film premiered at Sundance, and it plays like a road movie where the drive forces the family to confront reality. Our second any film in theaters this week is I Swear. Directed by Kirk Jones, it's based on the true story of John Davidson, a working class kid in 1980s Britain, who develops Tourette syndrome at a time when most people don't even have a name for what they're seeing. John's ticks make him stand out in the worst way. Teachers assume he's disruptive. Strangers stare. Other kids turn it into a sport. The film stays close to how humiliating that can be and how quickly shame becomes isolation. Robert Aramaio plays John with a mix of anger and humor because the only way through some days is to laugh first before someone else does. As John gets older, the story shifts from survival to purpose. He starts learning how to explain the condition, how to advocate for himself, and eventually how to advocate for others who are still getting misread. The movie does not pretend it's a smooth transformation. It shows setbacks, impulsive decisions, and the frustration of trying to be taken seriously when your body won't cooperate on command. What makes it satisfying is that John's voice becomes the thing people can't ignore even when they tried to ignore him. It's a biopic with real teeth, and it leaves you understanding both the cost and the stubborn courage of showing up anyway. Our last film in theaters this week is Two Seasons, Two Strangers. Written and directed by Shomiyaki, it follows Lee, a screenwriter living in Japan, who's trying to process her life by turning experience into pages. The film unfolds in two movements. First, a summer stretch by the sea that feels oddly chilly, where Lee drifts through small interactions, half conversations, and moments that don't announce their importance until later. Then a winter section at a remote inn, warmer in color, but heavier in feeling, as Lee keeps writing and keeps trying to understand what she's actually doing to herself by staying in motion. Miyaki builds the story out of ordinary encounters, a screening and QA, strangers you meet for an afternoon, a look that lingers, a sentence that lands wrong. You can feel how easily connection becomes miscommunication, and how quickly loneliness can become a habit. Shim Yun Chang anchors the film with a performance that's alert and vulnerable at the same time, like someone taking notes on her own life while it's happening. The movie is adapted from manga stories by Yoshihiru Suki, and it carries the literary off-to-the side perspective where the biggest emotions show up in small gestures. It won the top prize at Lucarno and earns that kind of attention with patience and precision. So in theaters this week, that's Omaha, I swear, and Two Seasons, Two Strangers. Our spotlight indie film on demand this week is Between the Temples, directed by Nathan Silver. It follows Ben, a small town cantor who loses his voice after his wife dies, and can't figure out how to lead anyone when he can't even sing. He's back living with his moms, going through the motions at the synagogue, and picking fights with the world in the exact way grief teaches you. Then he runs into Carla, his old elementary school music teacher, who shows up with a request that scrambles his routine. She never had a bot mitzvah as a kid, and she wants one now. Ben agrees to tutor her, and their odd, funny friendship becomes the thing that keeps him from collapsing. Jason Schwartzmann plays Ben with nervous energy that reads like a heartbeat. Carol Kane plays Carla with fearlessness, like someone who is done asking permission. The movie has a great eye for community life, the rabbi politics, the class of kids prepping for bar and bat mitzvahs, the gossip that travels faster than prayer. It's also surprisingly tender about what ritual can do when you stop treating it like a performance test. If you want an indie comedy that's actually about something, this one really lands. You can rinse it on Apple TV, Prime Video, or Fandango at home. Our indie film classic this week is Half Nelson, celebrating his 20th anniversary. Directed by Ryan Fleck, it's set in a Brooklyn public school where Dan Dunn is the kind of teacher students actually listen to, smart, intense, and genuinely invested. Dan also has a secret life that's falling apart. After school, he disappears into addiction, and one afternoon, his student Dre finds him in a bathroom, passed out and exposed. That moment could end everything, but it turns into an uneasy connection between them. Dre is sharp and self-possessed, but she's also navigating her own pressures. A brother who's in trouble, and the pull of the neighborhood economy that promises fast answers. Dan wants to be a mentor. Dre wants to be respected. Both of them are trying to find a version of adulthood that isn't a trap. Ryan Gossling plays Dan with a jittery sincerity that makes him sympathetic without excusing him. The film also sneaks in real ideas, Dan's obsession with dialectics, the push and pull between idealism and compromise, and how easy it is to talk about change while you're losing control of your own life. What's impressive is how grounded it stays. There are no miracle speeches and no tidy recovery arc. It just watches two people try, fail, try again, and keep showing up. You can rent it on Apple TV, Prime Video, or Fendango At home. And that wraps it for the April 24th, 2026 edition of Indie Film Weekly. If you're enjoying the show, help me keep it in your feed and in other people's feeds. Subscribe so you don't miss a week. Share the episode with one friend who always asks for a recommendation. Rate it and leave a short review because those little taps are how the apps decide to surface it. Until next week, keep it brave, keep it curious, and keep it indie.