ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Canada

Peace by Chocolate: A Delectable Story of Hope

by Leave a Comment

Chocolate can do amazing things. Who knew that it could bring peace and hope as well?

Set in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Peace by Chocolate tells the amazing true story of the Hadhads, a family of Syrian refugees fleeing their nation’s civil war. First to arrive is eldest son Tareq (Ayham Abou Ammar), a respected physician in his home country. As he prepares for his family’s arrival, he quickly discovers that this new land of opportunity is frought with challenges, ranging from financial struggles to xenophobia. However, when his parents join him, things begin to change, especially when his father Issam (Hayem Ali) begins to sell the amazing chocolate delicacies that he create to the community. As his father’s new business begins to grow in popularity, Tareq becomes torn between his family’s success and creating his own legacy in the medical world.

Directed by Jonathan Keijser, Peace by Chocolate is an unexpected treat from start to finish. Anchored by some wonderful performances by Hayem Ali and Ayham Abou Ammar, Chocolate not only inspires but also reveals the challenges of immigrant life. Interestingly, while Keijser could have used the film to take a deep dive into the mishandled aspects of Canadian immigration policies, Keijser instead keeps the focus on the dynamics within the family and the people of their new home. As a result, there’s an aspect of Chocolate that feels instantly relatable to every parent who has struggled to connect with their children.

On the surface, Chocolate is a testament to one family’s ability to pivot in the midst of their own painful traumas. Having lost everything in the Syrian civil war, Issam and his family were felt as though they were left adrift. While Tareq fights desperately to secure his medical license, his parents are left wondering how they fit into their new environment. However, when Issam rediscovers his passion for chocolate, things begin to change. Colour returns into their home and hope begins to inspire them. By the simple gift of candy, Issam begins to leave his mark once again.  Then, as the popularity of their dessert began to rise, Chocolatebecomes a celebration of those who are able to navigate the challenges of refugee status.

Though, despite the massive success that this family achieves, Chocolate also acknowledges the seemingly insurmountable barriers that New Canadians face. Inexplicable rules and regulations that forces family members to be left behind or simply attempting to find work all work against the Hadhad family, threatening their physical and mental health. For instance, the best example of this comes through Tareq’s journey as he tirelessly pursues his medical license in his new home. Once a doctor, he too wants to be acknowledged for all the hard work that he accomplished in his home country. Nevertheless, his skills are not acknowledged due to Canadian regulations. As one would expect, these frustrations eat away at his soul as he refuses to settle for a job less than his stature yet this sort of sacrifice remains a painful reality for the most highly skilled of immigrant families. (As his friend suggests, “Here, paramedics drive ambulances and doctors drive cabs.”)  

What’s more, one of the more charming aspects of the film is the deep sense of compassion from much of the community at large. While not everyone is willing to accept their new neighbors, there is a deeper sense that this community sees the value of all people. So, while this may be an incredible story of one family triumphing in their new home, Chocolate also serve as a reminder of the importance of opening the doors that help newcomers flourish as well.

Sweet and soulful, Peace by Chocolate is a delectable delight. Smartly written and executed, there’s simply a joy about this film that’s crowd-pleasing in every way yet still manages to call the viewer to a deeper sensitivity to others.

As such, this Chocolate is definitely worth biting into.

Peace by Chocolate is available on VOD on Tuesday, June 14th, 2022.

Turning Red: Embrace the Panda

by Leave a Comment

Growing up is hard. Embracing the changes as they happen can be even harder.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Domee Shi (Bao), Red is a delightful coming-of-age story that is easily one of Pixar’s best films in years. Filled with bright colours and fueled with humour and heart, there’s simply an infectious joy about the film that charms and delights throughout. With fun and furry… er… fury, Turning Red becomes a wild ride into one young girl’s journey into the madness of puberty.

Taking place in 2002, Turning Red tells the story of Mei Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang), an enthusiastic pre-teen girl who lives in Toronto, Canada. Though she loves her family dearly, the expectations and pressure created by her over-protective mother, Ming (voice of Sandra Oh), is a cause of stress for her as she endures the chaos of adolescence. Things become even more frenzied when Mei discovers a family secret: whenever she gets too excited, she changes into a giant red panda! Freaked out by this shocking truth, Mei must try to figure out whether or not this change can be controlled… and whether or not she wants to.

While the premise may sound similar to Pixar’s Inside Out, the two films could not be more different. Written by Pete Doctor, Inside Out has an unavoidable level of distance as he writes from his own perspective. However, Red feels much more personal. As Mei wrestles with the changes within her, Shi brings an empathy and understanding that stems from her own experiences as a young girl that makes Red feel more real. As a result, whereas Inside Out feels like a man attempting to comprehend his daughter, Red seems much grounded from personal understanding.

Set in the urban jungle of Toronto, there’s also little question that the film is a love letter to her upbringing in Canada. Having immigrated at a young age, Shi grew up in the city and Red unashamedly adores its hometown. References to loonies, Wilfred Laurier, rides on the TTC and more all allow the city to have its moment in the sun. (Set in 2002, they even refer to the Rogers Centre as its proper name, the SkyDome.) 

More importantly though, Red is also a loving testament to her upbringing as an immigrant Canadian. While the film is not about Shi herself, the film celebrates her Asian heritage yet also remains willing to show the challenges that growing up in a different culture may cause within the home. Caught between the traditions of her parents and her life as a Canadian teen, Mei attempts to make sense of her world and her place within it. Although she remains committed to honouring her parents and their values, Mei’s life feels like a threat to her parents’ traditions. Pop music, boys and sexual attraction begin to create a rift between her and her mother that begins to break down their relationship.

In this way, Red fearless in its exploration of growing up. Using the red panda as a metaphor for Mei’s changing emotions and body, Red feels authentic and honest. Dealing with issues ranging from sexual attraction to a girl’s first period, the film feels grounded in all of the awkwardness of youth, even in the midst of its wild premise. 

While Mei’s world begins to change, Red points out that all of us are fueled by a complex mixture of imperfections, anger and sadness. As she attempts to balance her new and unpredictable emotions and her mother’s expectations of her, Mei becomes frightened of what’ happening to her. However, as she begins to navigate these changes, she also begins to understand what it means to accept the pieces of herself that don’t always fit into the box. (In fact, she becomes empowered by them.) Yes, the changes in her life may be scary and cause tensions at home, but there’s something incredible about them as well.

In the end, Turning Red definitely turns into something special. Mei’s journey may be her own, yet this is a story for everyone who has (or are) going through the chaos of growing up. Whether it’s learning to accept who you are or the ever-changing dynamics between teenagers and parents, these moments in our lives can be really difficult. Even so, Red reminds of the power that comes when we embrace the panda. 

Turning Red is available to stream on Disney+ on Friday, March 11th, 2022.

You Will Remember Me – Societal Dementia

by Leave a Comment

“We are witnessing the disintegration of the world!”

The motto of Québec is “Je me souviens” (“I remember”). It’s on their license plates, so that idea is always present for Québecois. That is not stated in Éric Tessier’s film You Will Remember Me, but it is certainly a central aspect of the story. While it is built around the dementia of the central character, it is much more about the wider world and our own inability to remember, even in the short term.

Édouard (the wonderful Rémy Girard) is a famous historian who is quickly becoming more and more affected by dementia. He has become too much for his wife to deal with. When she dumps him off with his daughter, who has to leave on an assignment, he is cared for by her boyfriend. But when he has to go to a meeting, he calls on his own daughter, Bérénice (Karelle Tremblay). Bérénice is young and drifting. However, she and Édouard form a strange bond even though he really can’t remember who she is. Eventually, he mentally connects Bérénice with another daughter, Nathalie, who is no longer around. Although they are so different, Édouard and Bérénice are able to provide what each needs in their lives.

The fact that Édouard was a historian is obviously important. He has spent his life with memories. He views the past as important. But now that past is slipping away from him. He doesn’t form new memories, so he only has the past.  Early in their relationship, Bérénice talks about history being unimportant. (“That craps over. There’s more to life than that.”) But later, Édouard shares with her an important event in Québec history (that coincides with Nathalie’s conception). It is a vibrant memory that he brings to life for her. (And it is a reminder of “Je me souviens”.)

While the struggles of a person with dementia are serious, this film blends in just the right amount of humor to make the story enjoyable. But it is not just a story of a person’s fading memories and of a young woman finding a new way of seeing her life. It is a reflection of who we are as a society. Édouard often rants about the Facebook/Twitter/YouTube world. At first it seems like the typical complaint of an aging Luddite. But we begin to see that there is something more existential to his views.

Later in the film he delivers an amazing monologue (ironically, that he streams using Bérénice’s phone). In that speech, Édouard shows a parallel between his disease, which is eating away at his memory and who he is, and the world that is so filled with information that each new thing pushes out what came before it. Just as he can’t remember what happened five minutes ago, so too do we not form memories. We can’t decide what is real or important. Instead, he says “You are prisoners of the eternal present.” (This monologue could well be my favorite movie scene of the year.)

The film challenges us to think about not so much the onslaught of information that can overwhelm us, but how we will remember the important things in life—love, community, values, freedom. Most importantly, we need to remember who we are. Without that memory all is lost. I have a new appreciation for the depth of Québec’s motto.

You Will Remember Me is available on Virtual Cinema.

Photos courtesy of Corinth Films.

Days of Darkness – Are We in a New Dark Age?

by Leave a Comment

[NOTE: I wrote this review in 2008 after seeing the film at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, expecting to publish it when it was released in the US. However, the film never got a release. I’ve often wondered what happened to it in all those years. Now it is available on AMC+ and IFC Unlimited (both accessible through Prime Video Channels and both offer a one week free trial.)]

Days of Darkness is the concluding film of the Denys Arcand trilogy that also includes The Decline of the American Empire and Barbarian Invasions. (It could be argued that Jesus of Montreal is also part of this group of films. I’m unsure about the more recent The Fall of the American Empire, which I haven’t seen.) The two earlier films shared common actors and characters.  Two of the characters from those films show up in minor roles in this film, but by and large, this is a very different kind of film from the first two.  The titles of the film harken back to the Roman Empire.  The decadence leads to weakness that allows the barbarians to invade and bring about the Dark Ages.  As a Canadian on the border of the American empire, Arcand seems to be saying that he sees the same sort of process happening in current society.  He may well be right.  What really connects Days of Darkness with the trilogy is that The Barbarian Invasions is about trying to escape death; this film is about trying to escape life.

Henry Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”  That certainly describes Jean-Mark in Days of Darkness.  Jean-Marc leads a pretty boring life.  His world is grey – his house, his car, the sky.  His marriage isn’t happy.  His children aren’t happy.  He’s a bureaucrat who spends his day listening to unhappy people.  But he has his imagination.  Like Walter Mitty, Jean-Marc spends much of his time in his daydreams – but this is Walter Mitty as if he had been written by Woody Allen and Hugh Hefner.  Jean-Marc’s fantasy life is not just an escape; it is a critique of the many ways the world has lost its way.

The real world of this film is nearly as surreal as Jean-Marc’s imaginary world.  The great bureaucracy where he works is housed in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.  It is literally a bureaucratic maze.  His co-workers have to take classes in how to laugh.  The problems he deals with each day are unbelievable, and yet each is an actual case.  (My favorite is a man who was walking on the side walk when a car hit a streetlight.  The streetlight fell on the man, who lost his legs.  The city charges everyone involved in the destruction of public property, so he has to pay for half the streetlight.)  There is rarely anything he can actually do.  One of the lines that sums up this world is “You’re wasting your time; it’s pointless.”

In his dreams Jean-Marc is in control.  He is the lover of a famous movie star and a TV news reporter.  He solves the world’s problems.  He is famous and rich and happy.  Those who are his nemeses are dealt with harshly (but of course they deserve it).

The film reflects the malaise that so often becomes part of life as we go through the same routines day after day.  Not only our personal lives, but our corporate life just seems to be one repetition after another.  Consider the skepticism with which we greet political campaigns.  Do any of the candidates live up to the dreams we have for someone to lead us?  Following Arcand’s post-empire metaphor, the meaninglessness of staged political debates or of reality television or blogs that do nothing but blather reflect a world that is as devoid of wisdom as those centuries before the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

If we follow the world into this malaise, it is indeed pointless and we are wasting our time.  Instead all the Jean-Marcs in the world (and that includes us all) need to find a life that has meaning beyond the limits of our minds.

Defining Moments – It’s about life.

by Leave a Comment

Stephen Wallis’s Defining Moments is a collection of intersecting stories about people who are facing those times in their lives that could well change everything. This is a light-hearted film that at times seems a bit ludicrous, but within that there are morsels of wisdom and understanding.

We meet Marina (Polly Shannon) who has returned home to visit her father Chester (Burt Reynolds, in his final role). Chester declares that he’ll be dead in nine months. He feels he’s lived enough. He wants to spend the time saying goodbye. Jack (Shawn Roberts) blurts out something stupid that makes his girlfriend Terri (Kelly Van de Burg) doubt their future together. Laurel (Tammy Blanchard) is facing an unexpected late life pregnancy and the discovery that her doctor father (Eric Peterson) is showing signs of Alzheimer’s. And Dave (Dillon Casey) is hospitalized after shooting his ear off in his (about) 30th suicide attempt.

The story weaves through ten of chapters (with titles like “A Moment of Clarity”, “A Moment of Change”, A Moment of Gratitude”, or “A Moment of Truth”. Little by little the people involved must face their issues in search of that moment that will change their lives forever.

The film uses a lot of license in its portrayal of these lives. Much of it just isn’t all that realistic. However, at its core the film is about the relationships between people and how those relationships and the way we build them form our lives.

The film opens and closes with voice over monologs that focus on a cemetery. That brings to mind the assurance that we all face death. But the opening voice over as it ponders the thousand of people buried in the cemetery: “How many people are still remembered? I mean at what point does that last memory of you disappear?” That calls to mind a comment from Ecclesiastes: (For there is no enduring remembrance of the wise or of fools, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten.” (Eccl. 2:16 NRSV) Yet mortality is not the point of the film. It notes that we all die, but also that we all live. And it is that living that is important.

Defining Moments is in theaters and available of VOD.

To see our interview with Stephen Wallis and Eric Peterson on YouTube, click here. To stream audio from the interview, click here.

Photos courtesy of VMI Worldwide.

Beans: Torn Between Peace and Protest

by Leave a Comment

It’s not necessarily a good sign to refer to a film as ‘timely’.

It’s not that the term is a description of a film’s poor quality. (Often, it’s the opposite, in fact.) However, the use of ‘timely’ usually refers to the fact that the issues of injustice raised within the film are still relevant in today’s culture, rightly or wrongly. In this way, the film at hand usually takes an additional meaning as a cry for help for a group who needs to be heard in a time of suffering.

Beans is one of these films.

Set against the drama of the Oka Crisis of 1990, Beans (Kiawentiio Tarbell) is a young girl who lives on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawa:ke, Quebec. Staying with her loving parents (Rainbow Dickerson and Joel Montgrand) and her little sister (Violah Beauvais), Beans lives a life of innocence and safety on the reserve. However, when a proposed expansion to a golf course threatens their burial ground, an armed stand-off develops between the Canadian government and Mohawk population, exposing the racist undercurrents of the local population against the Indigenous population. Unprepared for the hatred that she experiences, Beans must re-examine who she is and transform herself into her own kind of warrior.

Coming at a time when injustices against the Indigenous population lie at the forefront of Canadian conversations, Beansis a stunning and thought-provoking examination of history from an alternate perspective. While the coverage surrounding the Oka Crisis frequently portrayed the Mohawk people as villains, Beans tells the story through the eyes of the oppressed. (Incidentally, Deer highlights this false narrative by the media by using actual news coverage from the time.) In doing so, writer/director Tracey Deer offers an intimate story from the perspective of someone who lived through it herself as a youth. Though the characters are fictional, the story takes pages out of her experiences and reframes the incident through the eyes of innocence. 

Caught between her family and the terrifying events that swirl around her, Beans’ world is shaken by the unjust hatred thrust upon them. By choosing to tell the story through the eyes of young Beans, the events within the film become even more horrifying for the viewer at times. (This is especially true in one particular moment where her family is being harassed within their car, a scene which may be one of the most harrowing onscreen moments of the year.) 

A film this intense requires a lot from its young star but Deer has found an incredible talent in young Kiawentiio. As Beans, Kiawentiio absolutely shines. Despite being featured in almost every scene, she shows a maturity in her performance that grounds the film. Balancing both youthful innocence and justifiable rage behind her eyes, the actress feels present throughout the film which leans into its authenticity.

As she navigates the painful events that unravel before her, Beans’ journey is very much a battle for her soul. After bearing witness to the racist attacks at the hands of local citizens, Beans is left without answers. Though she has lived a relatively quiet life on the reserve, her experiences of the horrors of injustice force her to re-evaluate the way she sees the world. When she falls in with a group of young rebels who refuse to accept the behaviour that they’ve seen, they teach her how to hate her oppressors and take action against them. At the same time though, Beans is also told by her mother that she needs to be ‘better than they say she is’ by taking a more peaceful approach to insurrection. For her mother, the best response to these racist attacks is to demonstrate her integrity by the strength of her character as opposed to violence. 

In this way, Deer takes an interesting approach to the conversation surrounding the proper responses to injustice. Instead of advocating for either method as the correct one, Deer recognizes the need for both non-violence and force. Through Beans’ journey, she points out that, while the non-violent approach may be best, there are also times when other methods may be necessary in order to bring about change. As a result, Deer manages to hold both responses in tension with one another with grace and understanding.

Sharply written and executed, Beans is easily one of the best (and most important) Canadian films of the year. By sharing her experiences through the eyes of young Beans, writer/director Deer has created a story that’s both personal and poignant. Most importantly though, her emphasis on racial injustice against Canada’s  Indigenous population provides an added layer for a country seeking to chart a new path of healing for a nation torn apart by the pain of the past. 

In short, Beans provides a voice that is timely.

To hear our conversation with writer/director Tracey Deer, click here (YouTube) or here (audio).

Beans is available in theatres on Friday, July 23rd, 2021.

Reporting from Slamdance – Narrative Features (part 2)

by Leave a Comment

Here is another round of narrative features that are part of this year’s Slamdance Film Festival. This set of films is from around the world.

The world premiere of No Trace (Nulle Trace) from Canadian director Simon Lavoie served as the Opening Night film. Set in a dystopian future, the film begins with watching railroad ties go by before we discover “N”, a woman whose face shows years of struggle, driving a handcar along the tracts. When she stops, she picks up Awa, a young Muslim woman and her baby, and secrets them away in a crate to smuggle across the border. After a successful drop off, uniting the young mother with her husband, N returns to her travels. But misfortune will reunite the two women in a struggle to survive in the wilderness.

The film is shot in stark black and white in such a way to portray a cold, empty world. The world the two women inhabit seems to have lost all morality beyond the rule of the strongest. N is a survivor and is not opposed to using force if necessary. Yet when she finds Awa a second time, she cares for her, even at a cost to herself. The two women are very different, not just in age and looks, but in perspective. A part of that difference is faith. At one point, Awa asks N if she is a believer. N responds that she has never been that desperate. She tells Awa that belief “won’t help you survive.” But Awa continues in her prayer and trusts in God to deliver her—either in this world or the next.

The world of foreign domestic workers is the focal point of Alberto Gerosa’s Dea, making its world premiere at Slamdance. This is the story of a 20 year old Indonesian woman who contract to go to Hong Kong as a domestic worker. The understanding is that she will make enough money that she can send most of it back to help her family. What seems like an opportunity for a good life, ends up with many slights and disrespect, some small, but others serious, including sexual assault. When she loses her job, she has no real status in the society.

The film has 40 co-writers listed, each only with a first name. It is the result of an acting lab made up of immigrants in Hong Kong and Macau. Everything that happens to Dea in the film is based on things that happened to these young women. The socio-economic realities that the film brings forth are not limited to Hong Kong, of course. Exploitation of the poor is a near universal occurrence.

Isaac (Izaokas), from director Jurgis Matulevičius, is a Lithuanian film noir, set in Soviet Lithuania in 1964. In an introduction that takes place during World War II, with Jews being tormented and killed by Nazi sympathizers. This event becomes the focus of a film that Gedas Gutauskas wants to make. Gedas has just returned to Lithuania from 20 years in the US where he’s gained fame as a writer and film director. He reconnects to two old friends, Andrius and Elena. The three were very close until Gedas escaped to the West. Andrius and Elena are married, but the marriage has gone sour. The authorities are following and bugging Gedas. An investigator wants to re-open the case of a murder during that World War II event because Gedas’s script is so accurate, he thinks Gedas must have been involved. In reality it is Andrius who is tied to the story.

As with any noir film, there are twists as we slowly come to understand the truth, not only of that terrible event that opens the film, but also the relationships between Gedas, Andrius, and Elena. It also reflects a bit of the Soviet era angst with police surveillance and a hint at official corruption that only wants certain truths to be exposed. The film is mostly black and white, with the middle section in color. That middle section is the least noirish part of the film.

The Grizzlies: Hope is Not Cancelled

by Leave a Comment

The opening of the recent film The Grizzlies silently follows a boy on a walk with his dog amidst a desolate landscape. He sits down amidst the rocky crags, calls his dog over, and pets him. Then the boy shoots himself, leaving the dog to run free.  It’s an extremely jarring beginning to a film.

The boy is a member of the Nunavaut tribe in Northern Canada. Life for the people is categorized by standing around, drinking, smoking, and trying to survive a brutal climate.  It’s no wonder the town has the highest suicide rate in the country.

Entering into this is Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer), a young guy whose life has taken a northern detour to Nunavaut in order to teach high school students. He’s a bit arrogant and thinks he can simply come in sight unseen and make things happen, but soon experiences culture shock when what he thinks is a basic run to the grocery store ends up costing him hundreds of dollars. Sheppard’s first class in the town of Kugluktuk doesn’t fare much better. There are a handful of kids and only one (Miranda, played by Emerald MacDonald) has any interest in academics. Sheppard tries to go “by the books,” gets into a heated discussion with another student, then blocks the door and tells the student they’ll have to get past him first. The student punches Sheppard directly in the face and walks out.

Sheppard wants to get through to the kids and get them out of their situations, but their lives are mired in hopelessness he doesn’t fully understand. He attempts to push students to get better but to no avail. He protects one of his students from domestic abuse. He sees another student who is struggling and counsels him with basic platitudes. This backfires when Sheppard discovers the boy killed himself after their talk. Sheppard struggles with the ramifications and begins to wonder whether he can make any positive difference at all.

However, a breakout occurs when Sheppard realizes he already has the key to the tribe in his hands—a lacrosse stick. In Canada, the sport is nearly on par with ice hockey (it’s their national summer sport), but the students are reluctant to trust him when he begins to introduce the concept of a team. Only when he earns the trust of Adam (Ricky Marty-Pahtaykan) does the town begin to show interest—even allowing a mini-tournament to be held in the local gym. That success leads Sheppard to enter a team from Kugluktuk into the national tournament.  This drives a rift between the younger and older generation that threatens to rip the tribe apart.  

The Grizzlies appears on the scene in a very unique time in history – it was scheduled to be released in the US in late February (I had the opportunity to screen it at that time), but The Virus Which Must Not Be Named pushed the release to this month. My first take on the film: there are some nice aspects (particularly the cinematography and acting of the teenage characters), but the desperation and darkness at the beginning is simply too heavy for the rest of the film to overcome. I still believe this six months later, but I think we need the ending more than ever right now.

Hope is on the way . . . be ready for it!

With the world deep in the throes of a pandemic, the months of staying at home and limited contact with others (outside of a computer screen) have had a profound effect on people. A sense of hopelessness has developed as the days drag on. Frustration mounts as news reports provide pictures and videos providing conflicting information. Fear has arisen due to the unknowns and changes from what was once normal behavior. Yet hope isn’t cancelled. The sun rises each morning as a gentle reminder that today has the potential to be better than yesterday. As the Bible puts it, “[H]ope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it” (Romans 8:24-25 NASB).  We long for the days when handshakes and hugs become commonplace, when phrases such as social distancing disappear from use.  We might not see things change immediately, but we keep praying and doing our part to help end the pandemic, remaining hopeful in the eventual outcome.

At the end of The Grizzlies, the team plays its qualification matches at the national tournament, but the stresses of life, the expectations of a community, and Sheppard’s decision to leave the tribe rain hopelessness on everyone. Goal after goal after goal is scored on them—and they have no comeback. But hope is waiting and enters the stage at the perfect time, performing a transformational work.

The Grizzlies is available on demand now.

The Cuban – Jazzy Memories

by Leave a Comment

“We can’t change the past. All we have left is our future.” The past and future are not so much what Sergio Navarretta’s The Cuban focuses on. Rather it calls us to find life in the present.

Mina (Ana Golja) is a young Afghan-Canadian pre-med student who is working at a nursing home. She is tasked with feeding one of the patients who has Alzheimer’s. Luis Garcia (Louis Gossett Jr.) spends his day staring blankly. Because he reacts violently in frustration, he doesn’t eat with the other residents. Mina notices a poster on his wall of a Cuban jazz musician. She remembers that music from her grandfather’s home when she was a child. She notes that as she hums music that Luis becomes a bit more animated. She begins to bring Cuban jazz records to play for him and each time he becomes more engaged. Soon she’s bringing him Cuban food as well. She’s skirting the rules, but it is paying off. She soon discovers that Luis was a famed Cuban musician.

But when we see Mina’s homelife with her aunt (Shohreh Aghdashloo), we discover that Mina is less interested in being a doctor than her aunt. It is the aunt’s dream that she expects Mina to live out. She is concerned about Mina’s future, but not with Mina’s desires. (Mina is more interested in music.) It is the aunt who voices the quote above. The aunt had been a doctor in Afghanistan, but now is an administrator at the nursing home. As an immigrant, she was not credentialed to practice medicine, but she did the best she could to provide a home and opportunity for Mina. She may feel a bit like a martyr for her sacrifice.

But the contrast is really when we see Mina’s relationship with Luis. Here is a man who has seemingly lost his past, and has no hope of a future. With neither, he is stuck in a present of emptiness. The music and food that Mina brings him begins to draw out his memories—some happy, some not. It is the interplay of Luis’s past and Mina’s possible future that creates a meaningful present.

The film is a little bit cluttered with side stories of Mina entering into a romance, and with battles with the nursing home staff (which are a bit stereotypical). Those subplots take away some needed exploration of Mina’s memories of her family and how that impacts her situation vis-à-vis her aunt.

The film does offer some wonderful bits of Cuban jazz. Some of those involve getting into Luis’s mind as the music awakens him, taking him back in time to New York clubs, and also cruising in Havana. The music adds a sense of joy and life to the film, that focuses so much on people who are stuck in a life that is not their choosing. But throughout the film we find that the music, so based in the past, is what brings meaning into the lives of these characters.

The Cuban is available on Virtual Cinema through local arthouses.

Photos courtesy of Brainstorm Media.

Most Wanted – The Cost of Ambition

by Leave a Comment

What happens when a big, police inspired drug sting goes bad? Most Wanted, from writer/director Daniel Roby, is inspired by a true story of a Canadian man who was used by the police and left hanging in the wind when things turned bad.

Daniel Léger (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) is a recovering heroin addict, who finds himself connected to Glen Picker (Jim Gaffigan), a small-time dealer and informant to the Federal police. He convinces Federal agent Frank Cooper (Stephen McHattie) that Léger can make a big drug deal in Thailand. Cooper, who has been passed over for a promotion, wants to make a name for himself and sets up an extensive and expensive operation in conjunction with the Thai police. It turns out Léger is not the person they all think, and really isn’t up to this task. When things fall apart and a Canadian agent dies in the process, Léger ends up serving a 100 year sentence in a rugged Thai prison.

He would have languished there if not for Victor Malarek (Josh Harnett) an investigative reporter for the Globe and Mail. Mararek is on the outs with the newspaper’s management. He is brash, confident and way too full of himself. But when he goes to Thailand to get an interview with this Canadian citizen that seems to have been abandoned by the Canadian government, he learns that Léger was a patsy who was used by police who want to make this all disappear.

A familiar three-act format might have been a bit more appropriate for the storytelling. Instead we get the story in two parallel timelines, one focusing on Léger and the police operation, the other on Malarek’s investigation. Knowing this going in may make the first quarter of the movie a bit more understandable as it alternates between timelines.

The story is one of ambitions. Léger is an innocent person caught up in a battle of people looking to advance themselves. Picker is in this for the money he’s promised when the operation is completed. Cooper wants to prove that he should have a better position in the RCMP. Malarek enters this fray looking for a big story, but discovers that the person who this story revolves around is more important than the story he wants. Malarek becomes the agent of justice in the story.

It also speaks to the way a person can be seen as expendable to someone’s ambitions. Léger’s life was considered by the police involved to be so unimportant that it didn’t matter that he would spend his life in jail for what they orchestrated. And to protect the institutional integrity of the police, the government was willing to let this one, unimportant, former drug addict suffer what was not really his doing.

The film is set during the time of the US War on Drugs, and Canada’s own version of that. One of the keys that makes that “war” so ineffective was the idea that those involved with drugs were in some way unworthy of the protection of the law or of basic human consideration. It resulted in long, unjust prison sentences with no real consideration of the harm done to people in need. Daniel Léger is only one example.

Most Wanted is available through Virtual Cinema at local art houses and on VOD.

Photos courtesy of Saban Films.