A father tells his child a story. It is evening, and they are lying in a tent in the middle of the forest. What at first glance appears idyllic turns out to be an exceptional situation: in this post-pandemic world, the father is doing everything in his power to protect Rag. When the exhausted pair is taken in by three old men, danger seems to be averted, and perhaps a home and surrogate family has been identified. But this is a desperate and violent world, and the small measure of peace the parent and child find is soon lost.
As humanity teeters on the brink of collapse, it is not the survival of the species that concerns us, it is the single child. But it is the nature of children to demand change. Innocence is lost. Tragedy closes in. And nature looks on, detached.
With Light of My Life, Casey Affleck, who also plays the father, presents his second directorial work based on his own script. In this mixture of a survival drama and coming-of-age story, he unfolds a dystopian family tale. While the father finds it nearly impossible to explain the world to his child, the filmmaker resists explaining everything to his audience. However, what is important is imparted to each.