There’s a new alien movie in town, and this one’s less sci-fi and more sentimental than the ones you’re probably used to. Jules is a sweet little gem of a film from Marc Turtletaub that stars Sir Ben Kingsley as Milton; a senior citizen with memory problems and a case of chronic loneliness. Milton has a son out of state who barely speaks to him and a daughter, Denise (Zoe Winters), who appears slightly burdened by his declining health. All in all, Milton is a sad picture of what it means to be an aging single person in America.

 

Milton’s daily routine is shaken to its core when an alien spacecraft crash lands in his yard and, as he laments, crushes his azaleas. When a scared, non-speaking little extra-terrestrial crawls out, Milton is joined by a duo of nosy but well-meaning neighbors – Joyce (Jane Curtain) and Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) – to help the creature return to its home planet. 

 

While working in cahoots to help the alien get back home, the trio finds themselves compelled to open up. “His eyes are so understanding,” as Joyce puts it, and indeed I did feel myself oddly drawn to the little fella (who is actually played by a woman named Jade Quon). As their pasts are slowly revealed, we learn our three leads share something in common, and that maybe they need Jules just as much as he needs them.

Jules is oddly moving and at times, very funny. And take my word for it: You’ll want to call your parents after you watch it and tell them you love them.