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CSFF 22′ – A Common Goal

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A Common Goal is a documentary film following the Arab players on the Israel National Football team. The film, like the others premiering at the Canadian Sport Film Festival, uses the fame and excitement of sport to analyze the deeper systematic issues they highlight. For A Common Goal, this involves looking at Israel’s history of discriminating against their Arab citizens as they became a Zionist, Jewish country. This history is shown through the number of Arab players on the Israel team which for the first time included seven Arab players and full simultaneous Arabian broadcast of the national games. However, despite this push towards change the country remains divided and the response of the Israeli football fans shows there is still a lot to be changed in Israel’s attitudes towards its religious minorities both on and off the pitch.

The ironic part of the hate and inequity shown towards the Arab-Muslim players from an athletics perspective is they are some of the best players on the team. The film dedicates a fair portion of the runtime to interviewing and talking with some of the players who have held successful careers in England, Australia, and other European countries. They’re a perfectly comfortable living their successful lives in their adopted countries as Muslims. Still, they choose to come back and try their best to lead the national squad to its highest heights despite the discrimination because it is their home. As we watch these talented footballers try to lead their squad through to the Euro 2020 tournament, we see how they continue to try and break new ground for equity in their country in pursuit of athletic greatness. While not breaking new ground in terms of it storytelling or filmmaking, A Common Goal is an engaging education on the problems in Israeli culture and should serve as an inspiration to any athlete who hasn’t felt loved by the country or people they play for.

A Common Goal premiered at CSFF ’22.

Fisherman’s Friends: One And All – Fishing for the Future

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What do you do with eleven drunken sailors ear-lai in the morning… when they wake up in the modern world?

Directed by Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft, Fisherman’s Friends: One and All is a joyful musical experience that anyone can enjoy. Based on the amazing true story of this band of shantyman that achieves unexpected success, there is also a surprising level of heart buried within the humour and music. Although the film focuses its narrative on the lives of slightly different characters within the group, the film maintains the soul of the original. As a result, Leonard and Moorcroft have managed to follow up a successful first effort with a second entry that keeps you engaged and invites you to join in the fun.

As the sequel to the original Fisherman’s Friends, One and All picks up where its predecessor leaves off. After the success of their first album, the band is struggling with their new-found fame. Their music is steeped in tradition… but their label is nervous that they don’t sound ‘fresh’ enough to keep the ride going. As a result, Jim (James Purefoy) is struggling to keep focused, especially after the passing of his father. Now, the boys must re-learn what it means to be men in a new world if they want to maintain the success that they’ve achieved.

While performances are solid and the humour works relatively well, the real stars of the film are its scenery and music. First and foremost, the film’s soundtrack is an absolute joy. Fueled by classic sea shanty, the film has the sonic charm of other a cappella films yet somehow feels grander. Rather than focusing on modern pop hits like the Pitch Perfect franchise, One and All leans into its more traditional sound, allowing the film to seem… mature. While this makes sense given the general age of the band members, it’s the music that elevates the film to something more than other musical films. What’s more, steeped in the traditions of the English countryside, One and All visually has an almost mythological warmth and welcome about it. 

And tradition is key to this film.

Simply put, One and All is a story “good old boys living in a new world“. Based on the true story of the band Fisherman’s Friend and their unlikely success, these are men who are locked in the past and lost amidst the ‘new rules’ of the modern era. For Jim and the boys, fame is great but not as important as having a pint at the pub and, maybe, hooking up with a lass. These are men who care a little for the ways outside their community, content to live in the world they know. Even so, One and All recognizes that these sorts of male attitudes have become problematic (or even potentially toxic) in today’s culture of gender equity. 

But, as they step into success, they become increasingly aware that the world around them is different than their own. (After all, as their producer says, we can “accept that they sound like they’re from 1792 as long as they don’t act like they’re from 1792.”) These sorts of changes are scary, especially for the older generation. In this way, One for All explores one the challenges of older people as they attempt to become wiser within the modern era with humor, but also heart and sensitivity. 

However, perhaps the best part of the film is its willingness to challenge men to acknowledge their flaws and fears. Although One for All begins by forcing its characters to ask themselves about the appropriateness of their modern-day attitudes, it quickly moves into the realm of mental health, struggles and addiction as well. For example, struggling with the loss of his father, Jim attempts to bury his pain at the bottom of the bottle. Clinging to his hurt and holding it inside, Jim’s struggles begin to affect the band as well and he is forced to ask some very difficult questions about himself. Although these conversations feel commonplace in our everyday world, they remain difficult for those who come from a culture where “men must be men.” In these spaces, vulnerability can be seen as weakness, making it all the more difficult to properly heal but One and All calls men of this generation to speak of their brokenness so that they can move forward.

As such, Fisherman’s Friends: One and All may begin with the music and mayhem but opens the door for deeper conversations about modern masculinity. While not necessarily the finest fish in the sea, this is definitely not one to cast away.

Fisherman’s Friends: One and All is available in theatres on Friday, November 18th, 2022.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Holiday Cheer and Redefining Home

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This Black Friday, the best holiday deal you’re going to find is on Disney+.

Written and directed by James Gunn, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special begins as the Guardians wonder how they can help Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). As the Terran celebration known as ‘Christmas’ approaches, they notice that he’s hardly in the holiday spirit. In an effort to cheer him up, Drax and Mantis (Dave Bautista and Pom Clementieth) decide to give him the ultimate gift by bringing Quill his favourite ‘hero’: Kevin Bacon.

Fans looking for progression and character development here will likely end up disappointed as this adventure has very little to do with the larger franchise, despite claims otherwise. (However, it’s worth noting that two small bits of information are revealed that could play an important part in the upcoming Vol. 3.) Nevertheless, this is the type of entry that Disney+ is made for. Fueled by Christmas cheer, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is short, silly and an absolute party from start to finish. 

Once again, Gunn’s signature style is also very much at work here. Featuring another hot soundtrack, Holiday Special plays right into fan’s expectations with its humour and heart. (Although, it’s also worth noting that the best song may be its initial ditty about how aliens just don’t understand the holiday.) 

While he may be making the move over to DC in the future, Gunn clearly still enjoys playing with his Marvel toys. Having established and defined this group of ragtag misfits, Gunn has a love for these characters that remains evident. After two films and several other appearances (including a new Guardians ride that he directed at Walt Disney World), Gunn has ensured that we have a relationship with these characters and care about their well-being. After all, why else would we care if Peter Quill is sad on Christmas? It’s actually a tribute to Gunn’s work that fans have become so invested Quill’s trauma that from the loss of Gamora that this story would even be an interesting to fans of the MCU. 

He has cared about them. So, we still care about them.

As a result, Holiday Special is a hilarious addition to the series that, while silly and non-sensical, still somehow becomes heartwarming by its finale. While all the Guardians are involved, this is truly a story anchored and led by Drax and Mantis. Somewhere along the line, these two characters have become the soul of the team and have delightful chemistry onscreen. In Holiday Special, the duo are unleashed and let their silliest impulses run wild while never losing the heart of the characters that has made them so beloved. (Although, one must also recognize the work here by Bacon who simply leans into the holiday spirit with an almost giddy performance.)

What’s interesting about a lot of modern holiday specials is the fact that they want to talk about Christmas without actually talking about Christmas. While Quill mourns the loss of the holiday from his home planet, we aren’t really left with much knowledge as to why. Instead, to borrow a line from NBC’s now-defunct series Community, the Guardians Holiday Special seems to suggest that ‘the meaning of Christmas is that there’s meeting in Christmas’. Christmas lights stun the eyes and giving gifts to the ones you love feels important. But the love of the holiday seems to stem from a love for the holiday itself.

However, one of the clearest emotional notes of the Special is its relationship to family. Having travelled far across the galaxy at a young age, they see that Quill feels like something is missing. As Kraglin remembers Quill’s holiday failings with Yondu, he and the Guardians believe that he has lost a piece of himself without his home. Because he’s been separated from his home world, Quill has experienced great loss in his life. Whether it’s his family or Gamora, the holidays have left him feeling lost without a family.

And therein lies the secret to the holidays within this story. 

For the Guardians, to discover Christmas is to recognize the importance of being with family. While Quill may miss the decor of the holidays, what means the most to him is being with the ones that he loves. As such, this Holiday Special features no villain to be defeated (an MCU first, btw) or world to save. Instead, it simply wants to sit with holiday humour and remind fans to treasure the people around us. In doing so, the Specialrecognizes that, no matter what corner of the galaxy you’re in, it’s these people that make a home.

Although, getting Kevin Bacon as a Christmas gift doesn’t hurt either. 

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is available on Disney+ on Friday, November 25th, 2022.

Deconstructing Karen – A woke up call

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“It’s white women’s niceness that is killing us all.”

A group of women sit around a dining room table to break bread and talk. But it won’t be an easy or pleasant conversation. That is because it will strive to be an honest conversation about race in America. Deconstructing Karen, a documentary by director Patty Ivins Sprecht, watches as the conversation unfolds with a group of white women as their understandings of themselves is challenged.

The women are there as part of a Race2Dinner event. It is facilitated by Race2Dinner co-founders Saira Rao and Regina Jackson. Rao is Indian-American who describes herself at one point as a former white feminist. Jackson is African-American who has been involved in civil rights issues for decades. Rao and Jackson lead the women in a conversation that is at times provocative, confrontational, and blunt.

The target audience for dinners such as this are white women who describe themselves as liberal or progressive. The underlying thesis is that racism is inherent in our society. (Racism is defined in the film as “the systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of another.”) Because of that, all white people carry racism within them. Even Rao raises her hand when they ask who at the table is racist. The point of the dinner is to help those who come (and the rest of us as we watch) to begin to see the way racism and white supremacy have defined who they are. The extension of the thesis is that even those who think of themselves as woke may still be supporting the inherent white supremacy of our culture.

More than once the facilitators say that change is not possible until there is acknowledgement. And that acknowledgement is what the film is seeking. (Even that is hard to accomplish in the brief 73 minutes of the film.) This is not a film that offers a cure for the racism of society, or even a great epiphany of self-awareness. At best this offers a starting point for viewers to rethink what racism is and to what extent we participate in racism, even if we think otherwise.

Having taken part in anti-racism events, I know that these ideas can be difficult to comprehend intellectually, but even harder emotionally. The film gives us a good start at an intellectual understanding of how racism and white supremacy infect us. The real mission has to be for us to not only intellectually acknowledge our racism, but to emotionally incorporate that into our self-awareness and daily lives.

Deconstructing Karen is available on VOD.

Godland – Faithless mission

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“I’m full of shit. Pray for me.”

Godland, written and directed by Hlynur Pálmason, has an interesting “inspired by” designation. We’re told that a box of old photographic plates was found in Iceland, and the story is inspired by those early photos. The story that develops from those plates is filled with light and darkness, beauty and shadows.

Lucas (Elliot Crosset Hove), a young Danish priest, is sent to Iceland to build a church in a remote part of the island and photograph its people. Before he goes, the bishop warns him that Iceland is not like Denmark. He is told he will have to adapt to their ways. The bishop reminds him of the Apostles who took the Gospel to all the world.

Rather than going directly to the location of the new church, he lands on the opposite side of the island and sets off with a guide, Ragnar (Ingvar Sigurdsson), and an interpreter on a grueling journey that shows him the ruggedness and the beauty of Iceland. But that journey is more that Lucas anticipated, almost killing him before it’s completed.

He awakens in a farmhouse where the new church is being built. We now begin to see how little attention Lucas paid to the bishop’s instructions. Although many of the people are bilingual, most prefer speaking Icelandic. Lucas doesn’t want to bother learning the language or the customs of the people. He is also very standoffish, not taking part in the building, only watching as others work. He fails to make any real connection with the people, except perhaps the farmer’s elder daughter who was born in Denmark and longs to return.

Lucas’s real passion has been taking pictures, some of people, but most of the “terrible beauty” of the landscape. He is far more concerned about his photography equipment than the large cross that has come with him from Denmark. On the journey, the cross is lost fording a river—a clue to what is going on within Lucas.

At one point Ragnar, who serves as an adversary to Lucas, asks “How can I become a man of God?” This puts the focus on Lucas and his role as a priest, that he does so poorly. There are various religious discussions and acts that come up through the film. The highlight of this is when Ragnar goes through a litany of confessions that increasingly challenge Lucas. In each, Lucas fails to do what we would expect from a priest. He seems to feel privileged because of his ordination, but perhaps more so because he is Danish. We see in him the kind of colonialism that the church has often represented in its missionary work.

Although we expect Lucas to be the one to lead lost souls to God, we see instead that Lucas is the one who is lost. He has lost sight not only of his mission, but of his faith and morality as well.

Photos courtesy of Janus Films.