Film is rarely a subtle medium. Watching a movie is more an emotional experience than it is an intellectual one and because images and scenes go by so fast, filmmakers rarely put as much care into the finer points of story telling as compared to a poem or novel.

This is where that Orson Welles quote about ignorance finds some alignment with Charlotte Wells. While she is well versed in the film business, she’s also someone who comes from a classics and literature background.

The first sign that “Aftersun” is different from most movies is the way it stubbornly defies fitting into a genre. At first glance it seems like a father-daughter relationship movie, and it certainly is that. But we find out very early in the movie that it is also a coming of age movie, an exploration of an 11 year old girl’s curiosity about sex and romantic relationships. And perhaps most unexpectedly, it is also a community movie, because the characters who populate this low-rent vacation getaway in Turkey reappear often and play an important role in the film throughout.

I left the last scene by getting a detail wrong. Calum wakes up the next morning on the cot, not the bed. Sophie is awoken by a metal clanging sound — construction on the building going on outside, just the kind of thing you hope to avoid on vacation. We then see Sophie by the pool reading, and still hear the clanging in the background. Sophie says “digital video entertainment” as she reads a manual, leading her father to say don’t get it wet, it’s expensive. I assume he means the camera, not the manual.

And by the way, that also makes “Aftersun” another kind of coming of age story — a “how I became a filmmaker” tale told from the time she received her first camera.

Calum, while putting sunscreen on Sophie, apologizes for the hotel, saying Clive was just here and he had a good time. We are reminded that this was the pre-internet age where travel still was largely word-of-mouth, and Calum probably doesn’t know many people who do a lot of traveling. It’s also a guy he asked, so he might not be getting the most family-friendly point of view for a place to stay.

Next, Calum asks Sophie is everything’s ok at home and if she’s getting along with her mom ok. Sophie is reluctant to give an answer and wants to know why he’s asking — she eventually deflects and tells him that everything is fine. Calum sees a family across the pool with two little girls — probably around the ages of 5 and 7 — and Sophie is offended, saying they are little kids. She then asks why he doesn’t introduce himself to the parents, who are quite a bit older than him. He responds that they are old.

This is important to keep in mind throughout — not only is Calum a single dad who does not live with (and from the sound of it, rarely sees) his daughter, he’s also quite young to have an 11 year old, making him only 20 when Sophie was born.

The first person to use the video camera is Calum. He learns about white balancing while she plays in the pool. Then we see him talk to Sophie as they walk outside the hotel. He asks if she wants a massive ice cream, she responds yes, as big as her head — which leads to a cute back and forth where Calum makes fun of Sophie for having a big head. And then we see the two of them swimming in the sea and it seems like they have a lovely relationship.

That night while Sophie sleeps, Calum is looking back on some of the video footage and he hones in on him filming Sophie while she’s talking to someone, likely a family member. He prompts her to say how he’s doing and Sophie, in a highly exaggerated voice, says “dad has been amazing.” Even if she’s being a bit sarcastic, he’s drawn to this response, it has meaning for him. The most likely reason is because it is important for his self image to be seen as a good and loving father. He’s trying to impress someone.

He turns off the camera and we hear that whirring sound again. Then he tries to get to sleep and the filmmaker’s camera trains on him for a solid minute as he attempts to doze off, but then turns. We see the clock turn from 3:08 to 3:09.

It’s the next morning and Sophie is on the phone. She’s talking to her mom now and she explains that they have to call away from the hotel, because their hotel doesn’t have a payphone. This makes it unlikely that the earlier call was to Sophie’s mom. Her mother asks how Calum is doing, she says good, then notes that he’s “doing some weird slow motion ninja moves,” and asks why he’s so weird sometimes. Sophie then puts Calum on the phone.

Sophie then uses the restroom and spies on two teenaged girls having a discussion about boys. One of the girls gestures that she gave a boy a handjob the night before. Sophie comes out of the stall and one girl asks “do you think she heard us?” The girl who told the story says who cares, “she’s like nine years old.”

We hear the end of Calum’s discussion with Sophie’s mom. He says “I’m so happy for you” about something she says and then closes the conversation by saying “love you.” Sophie notices.

Sophie then goes into an arcade and sits down at a motorcycle game where a chubby boy is already sitting on another bike. He shows her how to start and they have a race. After the race is complete, Calum calls her over to have a drink outside.

She will see this boy again later. The movie has, in less than 20 minutes, given us a pretty good idea about the major themes it will examine over the next hour and 20 minutes.