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Censor: Blurred (and Bloody) Lines between Truth and Fiction

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Taking place during the Thatcher era in Britain, Censor follows Enid (Niamh Algar), a film censor who suffered a traumatic event in her youth with the disappearance of her sister. Having tried to put the events of her childhood behind her, she spends her days pouring over graphic horror films (or ‘video nastys’) in an attempt to keep the youth of this generation safe from becoming tainted by them. However, when a film calls into question whether or not her sister is still alive, Enid embarks on a journey to find out the truth about her whereabouts and discover what really happened back then.

Co-written and directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, Censor is a mind-trip that both horrifies and intrigues. Set in the mid-1980s, the film explores the relationship between reality and fiction by blurring the lines between them. While Censor may not be the most tightly written horror film of late, it may be one of the most creatively constructed. Through her use of set design and lighting, Bailey-Bond ensures that the viewer never separate the real world from the films that Enid consumes each day. In each scene, she visually infects the most innocent of moments with a sense of menace and dread. Red tints bleed into the restaurant as she eats with her parents. Hallways are diseased by shadows and silence as she walks home from work. What’s more, as Enid’s mind becomes compromised, Bailey-Bond edits the scenes to feel increasingly like footage from old 1980s VHS tapes and films. In doing so, Bailey-Bonds drags the viewer into the video nastys themselves, further breaking down the barriers of reality.

During that particular period in British history, the belief that the dark side of culture was being shaped by the violence in these video nastys was prevalent. Tasked with ‘protecting the youth’, the role of the censors was viewed as incredibly important yet the link between violence on screen and reality has never been conclusive. As Enid’s consumption of the nastys reshape her memories, the film begins to suggest the presence of horror films stems from the darkness of the culture itself, as opposed to the other way around. It has been said that horror films mirror the fears and anxieties of our culture and Censor puts that idea on full display. Although it was believed that it was the genre that was creating monsters, the film points to the fact that it actually sheds light on the monsters that already exist. In other words, brutal violence, abuse of women, and more weigh heavily may within this genre but they also present an opportunity to speak to the demons of our culture.

At the same time, the film also calls into the question the fragility of our memories. While the film never explicitly blames her work for Enid’s breakdown, there is little question that it plays a role. For Enid, the role of the censor is essential and she immerses herself in her job. However, when she comes across a video that triggers her memories of her sister, she slowly begins to come apart at the seams. Due to the traumatic nature of the events of her childhood, Enid struggles to put together the pieces of long ago and the violence inherent to these films seem to provide answers to the questions she carries with her. (“You’d be surprised what the human brain can edit out when it can’t handle the truth,” she’s warned.) As a result, Enid almost wants to see reality within the fiction that she consumes. However, on her quest for truth, Enid gradually and increasingly struggles to be able to separate them from one another. While the pain of her story matters, she is unable to fully reconcile the truth of it within her mind.

Visually impressive, Censor should offer the type of gory mystery that horror buffs crave. Bailey-Bond gives the film is a raw feel that seems authentic to the era yet never betrays the story that she wants to tell today. As Enid’s journey devolves into increasing madness, so too does the film itself become more murky along the way, forcing the viewer to decide what is real and what is just ‘nasty’.

Censor is available on VOD on Friday, June 18th, 2021.

Sweat – Alone in the Crowd

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We live in a world of so much connectedness, yet how connected are we to one another? In Magnus von Horn’s Sweat, we see how alone we can be in the midst of masses. We see that celebrity is not the same of a happy, healthy life. We see that what we see of someone on the surface may be far different than who they really are.

Sylwia (Magdalena Koleśnik) is a fitness guru and social media influencer. We first see her as she leads a mass workout in a mall. Afterwards everyone throngs her getting selfies and telling her how much they all love her. She has about 600,000 followers on social media. She posts videos constantly—pictures of her body, opening gift bags from sponsors, walking her dog.

When she meets with her agent, he is concerned about a recent video she posted that went viral. In it she cries because she has no one in her life. The video has made sponsors nervous. They want her to be seen as a happy, successful person—the kind that the world will want to emulate (by buying their products).

That crying video reflects a bit of the reality of her life, but it is a part that she keeps hidden most of the time. Instead, we see the beautiful, ever-smiling, upbeat persona that she has created. That is a person whose vlog is filled with people posting videos talking about how much they mean to her. But that video also brings out a stalker who feels connected to her by her loneliness. When she notices him in his car masturbating outside her apartment building, she feels threatened and disgusted.

Most of the movie deals with Sylwia as she goes through daily life. What we discover is that despite hundreds of thousands of followers, she is a person without a friend. She may be famous. She may be admired. She may be known by many. But she is ultimately alone.

Even when she goes to her mother’s birthday party with family friends, she is not really a part of the group. At one point she heads off to another room to eat her specially catered meal while others enjoy a dinner together. She doesn’t even eat cake, because it does not fit her lifestyle. She has lost all sense of joy and celebration, swallowed up by the persona that the world sees.

In press notes, the director says he is intrigued by what he calls “emotional exhibitionists”—those who can bare their feelings to the world. Sylwia is trying to balance her emotional life between such sharing, and maintaining the persona she has created. When she appears on a morning TV show, we watch as she alternates between those two aspects. She defends her emotional outpouring, because she knows that loneliness is a reality for many peoples. But then she moves to a workout and turns the switch from real Sylwia and public Sylwia.

Sweat allows us to consider our own senses of being connected or disconnected—especially in the age of social media. Does the number of “friends” we have on Facebook reflect our closeness to people, or are we deluding ourselves to think that we care for and are cared for by those people?

Ecclesiastes speaks of the need to be connected to other people. The church is designed to be a connection between people and God, but also one person to another. That is one of the key meanings of sharing in the Lord’s Supper. I think that is why I see the scene of Sylwia eating a different meal in a different room struck me as one of the key scenes. It is coming to a table together that helps us understand ourselves and the world.

Sweat is playing in select theaters.

Photos courtesy of Mubi.

Reflection: A Walk with Water

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 “There it is. Take it.” (William Mulholland, opening the gates to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, 1913)

Water is a big deal here in California. It is not just about the presence or lack of rain (although that is important). For over 100 years, huge amounts of water have been diverted from the Central Valley and the Colorado River to provide water for Los Angeles and surrounding areas. In Reflection: A Walk with Water, filmmaker Emmett Brown joins with a group to walk the entire length of the Aqueduct from what is now the dry Owens Lakebed to the Cascades coming down the mountains into the city. Along the way he and others consider what this rerouting of so much water has cost the land. The film is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The film begins with a walk on what used to be Owens Lake (and is now the largest single source of dust pollution in the US). In many ways this redirection of water to a population center has had enormous environmental consequences (which are adding to and exacerbated by global climate change). But Brown says he wants to focus on signs of hope—ideas that may serve to mitigate the damage done. We see plans to “slow down water”, i.e., keep it from running to the sea as quickly as possible. We also learn about helping the soil better use the water that is available. There are other aspects of change he highlights as well.

This is a film that will appeal to environmentally minded people. It brings in issues of the way we have pillaged nature, ideas for doing things better, reflects on the treatment of indigenous peoples, and challenges viewers to see possibilities for change. But in the end, this is really a sermon for the choir. Nearly everyone who will opt to watch this movie will probably already be in harmony with its concepts and vision. It will reinforce existing ideas, but I doubt it will make any converts.

While I like the ideas of change, the problem with the examples we have is that they are all small-scale operations. Even if replicated many times as the film suggests, they would only represent a drop of water in the 200 mile long aqueduct. They are nice to consider, but compared to the massive undertaking that resulted in the LA Aqueduct, these are miniscule.

The film also ignores the elephant in the room of water in California—politics. Water is not just a matter of environmental importance in California; it is the basis of ongoing fights between cities and rural farming. California water policy is battled over every few years—especially in increasingly frequent drought years.

Reflection: A Walk with Water serves to bring some of these environmental issues to our attention. It offers ideas that some may want to incorporate into their own lives. It offers us an opportunity to reflect on some of the spiritual aspects of the ecology (mostly from a Native American spirituality). It is a small voice speaking to a very large issue.

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard: Reynolds, Hayek and Jackson comedy goes Fast & Furious

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The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard brings back beloved (and unlicensed) bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), who is having an identity crisis of sorts. While taking a sabbatical from work, Bryce is thrown back into action when Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) drops back into his life and demands his help in rescuing her kidnapped husband, hitman Darius (Samuel L. Jackson). After freeing him from his abductors, the three are recruited by the FBI to prevent madman Aristotle Papadopolous (Antonio Banderas) from bringing his maniacal plans to reality. Though they can hardly stand the sight of one another, the three must set aside their differences in order to save Europe from total chaos. 

Wild and unruly, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is a fun but flawed ride that earns its credibility through sheer star power. Back behind the director’s chair is Patrick Hughes who kicks things up a notch from the last entry. Whereas the first film kept things (relatively) straightforward with its plot, the sequel goes for more… everything. More comedic banter. More gunfire and blood. Higher stakes and stunts. (In fact, the story has leaned into its own wildness so much that it borders on the type of mayhem that have made the Fast and Furious films a global success.)

However, while Wife’s Bodyguard may be over-the-top with its story and characters, it still remains a fun ride. Despite its madness, Hughes understands that the true building block of the film remains its leads and they receive the attention that they deserve. Even though Jackson and Reynolds have great comedic banter together, the most welcome piece is Hayek, whose role is increased significantly (as the title suggests). Though she has mixed up her acting choices throughout her career, Hayek’s comedic talents have always been her greatest strength and she bounds around onscreen with an energetic silliness.

Although the leads receive significant screen time, it’s worth noting though that the supporting characters feel like they’re given little to do. While Freeman’s role is more of a cameo, one would expect that Banderas would have more time to establish himself in a villainous role but his scenes feel minimal. (Having said this, it is fun to see him working again with Hayek. Desperado reunion!) However, one could argue that the actor who suffers most in the film is the stellar Frank Grillo. As FBI Agent O’Neill, Grillo’s character is set up with a significant introduction and then almost criminally underused within the film, despite his seeming importance to the script.

At its heart, Wife’s Bodyguard emphasizes the importance and impact of our parents. Here, all the characters are either feeling the damage left by their families or looking to begin one of their own. For example, the film highlights the pressure that Michael feels to live up to his father’s legacy. As one of the world’s best bodyguards, Michael’s step-father is respected by all. Although he loves his father, Michael constantly views himself as a comparative failure, especially without his AAA license. At the same time, as Sonia and Darius try to set out on their honeymoon, she yearns to be a mother. While the two try desperately to have children of their own, they have yet to be successful and Sonia is growing increasingly frustrated with the delays.

While the two stories seem to differ, the film holds them up against one another in such a way as to highlight what it means to choose your own family. Though the characters may not be related, Darius, Sonia and Michael continue to establish a bond of support for one another that draws them together. In a strange way, this creates a newly supportive (but dysfunctional) environment that becomes a family that we choose ourselves. (Again, this theme seems to echo the heart of the Fast and the Furious films…) By taking biology out of the equation, Hitman’s Bodyguard emphasizes the importance of our relationships and having people around us that have our backs.

To Wife’s Bodyguard, that is the nature of family.

With heightened stakes and antics, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard should entertain fans of the first film and its leads. Despite the film’s flaws, Reynolds, Jackson and Hayek have a zaniness about them that always makes them interesting to watch, even in moments when this Hitman misses the mark.

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is available in theatres on Wednesday, June 16, 2021.

Queen of Spades: A Call to Parents

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We’ve probably all played the game as kids (or, at least, talked about it.)

Whether its at a slumber party or just hanging out with friends, the topic of unleashing the paranormal seems to be a common part of the teen experience. After all, how many of us sat down and tried to terrify one another with stories designed to make us scared to be alone in the next room? Furthermore, from ouija boards to enacting urban legends, how many of us have ever tried to step our toes into the paranormal ourselves?

Queen of Spades follows Anna (Ava Preston), a young pre-teen who’s been hanging out more with older youth since her mom is always at work. One night, the group discuss the legend of the Queen of Spades, an ominous entity that can be summoned by reciting her name while staring into a mirror. Although the experience begins as a joke, the teens become increasingly terrified when members of their group begin to die. Soon, they discover that they have unleashed a horrifying evil and must work together to stop her before she claims all of their souls for herself.

Directed by Patrick White, Queen of Spades is an absolutely fun (but predictable) ride into the world of paranormal activity. Although the tale is based on the well-known ‘Bloody Mary’ folklore, White tries to breathe new life into the idea by focusing on the story’s Russian equivalent. In doing so, he adds a unique spin on the material which helps it seem more original. However, what White is best at is his use of his set design. By emphasizing the numerous reflective surfaces within each room, he creates an ominous sense of dread that pervades the house. (It says something when one can make even the tea kettle seem like a potential threat.) 

In addition, despite some fairly good performances from its youth, the true highlights of the film come from its adults and, more specifically, veterans Kaelen Ohm and Daniel Kash. As Anna’s mother Mary, Ohm is fully believable as the burnt out mother. Despite the nature of the paranormal activity around her, Ohm never really over-indulges her work and even provides the youth with some grounding to their own performances. However, the real story of the film is Kash, who’s clearly having the most fun as the paranoid and broken Smirnov. Though he’s rarely onscreen throughout the first half of the film, Kash steals every scene that he’s in as the fumbling and fearful paranormal expert.

The biggest issue with Spades is simply that this is a story structure that we’ve seen many times before. Even though White does his best to keep things feeling fresh, the film checks off a number of narrative boxes which hold the film back from ever becoming something new. (For example, kids play game that contacts paranormal and start dying one by one as few (if any) adults believe them.) Through no real fault of its own, the premise of the film simply plays itself out as standard horror fare, even if the execution is quite good.

What does set Spades apart though is it emphasis on the relationship between parent and child. While one might expect that the stories of the teens might drive the narrative, it’s the bond between Mary and Anna that becomes the film’s central focus. Though she loves her daughter, single mother Mary is always away at work and her absence has left a hole in their relationship. Without her mother around, Anna is spending more time with kids who are much older than her who push her to act their age. (In fact, its teenage Katy who calls out Mary more than once for leaving her daughter alone and blaming her for the entire situation.) 

In many ways, the film uses its monster to symbolize the irresponsibility of parents who neglect or abuse children. For instance, though she was originally tasked with caring for kids, the Queen of Spades abused that power and become a serial killer. Although the Queen’s legend may be extreme, she serves as an example of the damage that can take place when adults misuse the responsibility of caring for children. (What’s more, in a complete coincidence, the Queen’s nightmarish behaviour also echoes the trauma of the bodies of the First Nations children that were discovered only a few weeks ago.) As a result, when it is held up against the relationship of Mary and Anna, the film serves as a call for parents to place greater value on their kids and help preserve their innocence.

Despite it’s predictable structure, there’s a lot of fun to be had in Queen of Spades. Whereas White may lean into the tropes that we’re all familiar with, his use of set design and special effects help give the film enough entertainment value to scare up some of your time.

Just be sure to cover up the mirrors after you do.

To see our interview with director Patrick White, click here.

Queen of Spades is available in theatres and on VOD on Tuesday, June 15th, 2021.