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Reviews

The Marijuana Conspiracy: Token Rights and Freedoms

April 19, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Set in 1972, The Marijuana Conspiracy tells the true story of the early conversations surrounding the legalization of marijuana use in Canada. As questions about the drug were becoming more commonplace, the Canadian government authorised a study into the effects of marijuana use on women. Offered a stipend for their time, a group of young women were invited to isolate for 98 days in order to be monitored by scientists and doctors as they regularly smoked together. However, as the days began to drag on, what starts out as a fun experiment begins to affect the girls deeply as the isolation begins to feel increasingly like imprisonment.

Written and directed by Craig Pryce, The Marijuana Conspiracy is an entertaining exploration of a relatively unknown chapter of Canadian history. Filmed primarily within the confines one location, Pryce creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that serves to bring the story to life. While the script could use a little less exposition at times, Conspiracy is buoyed by solid performances from its cast, especially Tymika Tafari, Morgan Kohan and Marie Ward. While almost the entire cast is enjoyable, these three women in particular bring passion to their roles as they struggle with social issues of far greater importance than their study.

While Canada’s long journey with the legalization of marijuana has been well documented, Conspiracy points to the early days of research that took place. By focusing on this specific moment in time, Pryce has a surprising amount of material to work with in terms of cultural questions and fears that held back legalization for nearly 40 years after this study. Through the film’s antagonist John Bradow (the always enjoyable Derek McGrath), Conspiracy argues that few people at the corporate level had any interest in the results of their study, especially if it didn’t validate their preconceived fears. Adding to the social stigma surrounding marijuana use, the larger culture was simply not ready to accept legalization as a valid recourse at the time. (In fact, it’s particularly interesting that the film is bookended by two generations of Trudeau in this regard.) 

However, while the film’s title and marketing focus on the question surrounding marijuana use, Pryce really uses this as a backdrop for larger conversations about justice. Throughout their experience together, each of these women reveal their own struggles at a time of cultural change. In this way, their lockdown becomes a metaphor for their struggles in the outside world. As they attempt to survive their temporary (but seemingly endless) incarceration, so too do they struggle against oppression. They feel the need for change… and yet cannot seem to break free from a culture that seeks to maintain the status quo. 

Coming on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, this was a time where conversations surrounding any number of social issues had begun to evolve. As such, Conspiracy does a good job of capturing the mood of a society that was gradually shifting its views regarding issues ranging from female empowerment, racial inequity and the beginnings of LGBTQ+ freedoms and awareness. Though set in the early 70s, the social heat of this era bleeds very well into our current conversations surrounding the nature of equality and the struggles surrounding racial injustice. (In fact, since the film was shot before the current pandemic, the timeliness of the film is somewhat staggering.)

Backed by some solid work from its cast, The Marijuana Conspiracy is worth the trip. Whereas writer/director Pryce could have used the film to solely explore the positives and negatives of drug use, instead he wisely expands his story to focus on an era that stretched and changed the culture. As a result, he also taps into the heartbeat of today’s conversations as well.

To hear our interview with star Tymika Tafari, click here.

The Marijuana Conspiracy is released on Tuesday, April 20th, 2021 in select theatres and VOD.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: civil rights, Craig Pryce, Derek McGrath, legalized marijuana, Marie Ward, marijuana, Morgan Kohan, The Marijuana Conspiracy, Tymika Tafari

Quo Vadis, Aida? – Helplessness

April 19, 2021 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“I’m doing everything within my power.”

Quo Vadis, Aida? is a fictionalized story based on true events during the Bosnian War. Directed by Jasmila Žabanić, it has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best International Feature Category. It was submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina. It recounts the fall of the town of Srebrenica and the resulting genocide carried out by the Serbian army.

Aida Selmanagić (Jasna Đuričić) is a Srebrenica school teacher who is serving as a translator for UN peacekeeping forces. The colonel leading the Dutch military contingent has been assuring the people of the town that they are protected and that the UN is prepared to attack the Serbs if they try to take the city. But when the Serbs come, the UN fails to carry out the threats of their ultimatums. The people evacuate the city, four or five thousand get inside the Dutch compound, but several thousands more are outside the compound seeking safety within. Aida is safe as an employee of the UN, but her husband and sons are outside the walls.

As an insider to the negotiations, Aida has information that the rest of her community does not have. She manages to find a way to get the family inside, but even then, the situation continues to deteriorate as the impotence of the UN forces becomes more and more obvious.

This is a film about helplessness. We especially see it in Aida as she struggles to save her family, but it is also true for the Dutch military leaders. They have been left out to dry by NATO and UN political decisions. When the colonel in charge tries to call up the command chain, he is told no one is available. Many times throughout the film, military people and Aida are pushed to tell people things they know are not true. The colonel admits early on, “I’m just a piano player.” (I.e., he’s only a messenger.) That is often the role that Aida finds herself in as well. Bringing messages that have no real force or meaning.

Aida is stuck in the middle—between her job and her family and the wider community. The Dutch are in the middle, delivering flaccid threats, then having to follow orders and regulations rather than saving lives.

When in school and learning to identify themes in literature, one of those overall themes that frequently recur is “Man’s inhumanity to man”. That phrase seems inadequate to describe genocide. We watch it play out, seeing the faces of so many we know to be doomed, and discovering that even those who care about what is happening are helpless to stop it. The film really doesn’t look at the geopolitical background. That would just be a diversion. The reality is that the world, like Aida, seems to be powerless in the face of the evil of such strife.

Quo Vadis, Aida? is playing in theaters, through virtual cinema, and on Hulu.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Oscar Spotlight, Reviews Tagged With: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian War, genocide, Official Oscar entry, Oscar nominated

GIVEAWAY! The Marksman on Blu-Ray!

April 18, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Jim is a former Marine who lives a solitary life as a rancher along the Arizona-Mexican border. But his peaceful existence soon comes crashing down when he tries to protect a boy on the run from members of a vicious cartel.

In order to enter, simply like/share this post on Facebook and/or Instagram and tell us your favourite Liam Neeson movie!

Winners will receive a Blu-ray copy of The Marksman.

All entries must be received by 11:59pm on Sunday, April 25th, 2021.

The Marksman will be released on Blu-Ray, 4K and DVD on May 11th, 2021.

Filed Under: Reviews

In The Earth: Getting Too Close to Mother Nature

April 17, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Directed by Ben Wheatley, In the Earth is set during a time when the Earth has been devastated by a horrifying virus. (Sounds familiar?) As they search for a cure, scientist Martin Lowery (Joel Fry) and his park scout, Alma (Ellora Torchia) set out on a trek to deliver equipment. However, as they venture out into the forest, their journey takes a dark turn. Hunted by the damned who roam the night, Martin and Alma must do everything they can to complete their mission and, more importantly, survive their mysterious attackers.

While In The Earth isn’t Ben Wheatley’s best film, it’s certainly an entertaining ride that successfully dives into the psychological and supernatural horror genre with enthusiasm. The director of such wild rides as High-Rise and Free Fire, Wheatley has always had a penchant for leaning into the chaotic. With In the Earth, he mostly contains his impulses in the film’s first half, choosing to build intensity through the team’s isolation with a silent forest. However, as the film goes on, he unleashes the mystical (and violent) elements of his world with increasing madness. (This becomes especially true in the film’s final act when he gives himself freedom to blast the screen with bright, primary colours and over-exposed visuals in ways that feel almost like experimental European cinema.)

Intense and effective, Earth provides little in the way of ‘jump scares’ but does an excellent job of unraveling the psychology of its characters. Without a large cast (the IMDb page only lists six actors and even that feels like a stretch), the film creates a feeling of claustrophobic dread amidst the confines of the trees. In a testament to Wheatley’s ability as a storyteller, Martin and Alma constantly seem like the walls are closing in, despite the fact that they’re moving (relatively) free in the wide wilderness. What’s more, strong performances by Fry and Torchia help make the character’s reactions believable in the midst of unbelievable circumstances.

Though the world may have been ravaged by a disastrous virus, it’s interesting that Wheatley does not allow the pandemic to drive the narrative. Instead, he allows this global crisis to simply operate as a backdrop to the film’s story. (Could it be that this is one of the first examples of a film that has accepted the next phase of our COVID world?) 

For Wheatley, the most important message of In The Earth lies in the relationship between humanity and nature. Although they live in a world of scientific inquiry, Martin and Alma become faced with unraveling the spiritual elements that connect man to the natural world. As they begin to go mad from their exposure to the rock, so too does the experience begin to give them greater clarity about their place in the universe. 

In this way, Earth exposes a deeper spiritual longing at a time of isolation and fear. At a time when mankind finds themselves separated by their own carelessness, this is an opportunity for them to seek out a connection to something greater that they’ve lost. As a result, Wheatley’s inquest points to the fact that there are consequences for man’s recklessness and suggests that the answers lie outside of ourselves. Since mankind has ruined creation, is it possible that they have done greater damage to Mother Nature than they’d realized? (As Jeff Goldblum might say, ‘Mommy’s very angry…’)

Featuring an intensity that continues to build to its grand crescendo, In the Earth is a wild venture into the mind of Ben Wheatley who asks new questions about a pandemic-infected world. Rather than finding ways to defeat the virus, Wheatley’s film seems more interested in how we cope with the new realities that it has created. Nevertheless, at the same time, he also points to questions that extend beyond visible reality and into the unknown spiritual realms.

In The Earth was released in select theatres on Friday, April 16, 2021.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Ben Wheatley, Ellora Torchia, In The Earth, Joel Fry

Monday – The Price of Hedonism

April 16, 2021 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Is passion enough for building a relationship? In Argyris Papadimitropoulos’s anti-romcom Monday, a couple quickly connect on a sexual level, but then struggle to find if there can be more to their time together.

Mickey (Sebastian Stan) and Chloe (Denise Gough) are Americans living in Athens. Mickey is musician and DJ who has been here for seven years. Chloe is an immigration lawyer who has been here eighteen months, but is getting ready to return to a job in Chicago. Chloe has just had a bad breakup. When she and Mickey meet at a large party, the sexual energy drives them. The next morning the police awaken them sleeping naked on the beach. It is only in the back of the police car they exchange names. When it’s time for Chloe to fly back to the US, Mickey makes a mad dash to the airport to convince her to stay.

The film plays out in a series of chapters, each beginning with a new Friday. (Only the last scene is labeled Monday). Each chapter shows a bit of change in their relationship. Each Friday brings something new to their relationship—moving in together, trying to do their work at home, meeting Mickey’s ex to talk about his son, etc. In each chapter they are still sexually bound to each other, but in other ways they seem to grow a bit more apart each time. We can sense that they are having a great deal of pain trying to maintain the relationship that has been built more on their sexual passion than on true love.

I call it an anti-romcom because it begins much like a normal romantic comedy might, but rather than following the story that moves towards sharing lives and loves, this story moves really in the opposite direction. We see selfishness and can expect that this will not bring about a happy ending for either the film or the characters. By structuring the film with a series of “Fridays” we see the characters, in metaphorical weekends—those times without responsibilities. And we can tell that when “Monday” comes there will be an accounting to be made.

The film can be seen as a critique of sensual hedonism. Hedonism is the idea that we find the good through seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. It has found many ways of being applied to life, including as a basis for ethics. The kind of hedonism we see in this film relies on physical pleasure about all else. That seems to be Chloe and Mickey’s answer to all their issues—have sex yet again (and they do it frequently in the film). But we see the paradox inherent in such a hedonism—that seeking pleasure is often self-defeating because there are many other motivations that bring goodness and joy.

As viewers we feel the pain of this relationship that needs a stronger foundation—built not on selfish pleasures, but in learning to give of one’s self, not just one’s body.

Monday is available at select theaters and on VOD.

Photos courtesy of IFC Films.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Reviews Tagged With: Greece, hedonism

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  • The Marijuana Conspiracy: Token Rights and Freedoms
  • Quo Vadis, Aida? – Helplessness
  • GIVEAWAY! The Marksman on Blu-Ray!
  • In The Earth: Getting Too Close to Mother Nature
  • Monday – The Price of Hedonism
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