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where faith and film are intertwined

Canada

Canada150: The Stories We Tell

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Caution:  This documentary review contains spoilers.  (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Directed by Sarah Polley, The Stories We Tell, in some ways, is the rarest of documentaries: that where the filmmaker turns the camera on themselves.  In a revealing examination of her family history, Polley explores the period in her life when she discovered that the father who raised her was not in fact her biological father.  Shocked by her mother’s infidelity, she sets out to find and meet her birth father as she deals with the ramification of the truth set before her.

Stories We Tell is a powerful and bold exploration of Polley’s family secrets and, conversely, how we define ourselves.  Through her use of family footage and revealingly personal interviews, she does not shy away from details regarding her mother’s affair, her family struggle or even her birth father’s identity.  Creating what must have been a personally taxing project must have been a daunting challenge for Polley yet she and her family members remain brutally honest about their frustrations, fears and heartache regarding the reveal.

But, the biggest surprise within Stories is not the infidelity.

As the narrative winds down, Polley pulls the camera back even further to reveal that the ‘historical footage’ that we’ve trusted all this time was in fact created for the film.  Although the footage seemed authentic due to its grainy look and jump cuts, it was actually an illusion the entire time.  In doing so, Polley provides a visual reminder that stories ultimately emphasize one perspective over the others, and that outlook is inevitably tainted.  We’ve trusted the footage because, after all, we trust the documentarian.  Why wouldn’t Polley be honest with us?  The quality of memories seemed believable, therefore we believed it.

Through her decision to use ‘pretend’ footage, Polley opens space for the film to explore the very relationship between perspective and truth itself.  Too often, we shape our ‘truth’ to fit our comfort zone rather than allow ourselves to see from another point of view.  In a world of multiple narratives, we must be cautious how steadfastly we hold to our perspective insofar as we minimize the stories of others.  The story of conquest and victory can also be the story of suffering and invasion.  The story of wealth and achievement can also be the story of dominance and poverty.  In the most Canadian of twists, Polley sheds light on the fact that there are multiple sides to each story and that each story has value.  (After all, our nation is supposed to be the cultural mosaic, aren’t we?)  When listening to another person, do we walk blindly within our own worldview?  Or are we willing to lay our assumptions–and, perhaps, our judgments–aside in order to really understand them?  It’s in this conversation that the tension lies between judgmentalism and truth itself.

While The Stories We Tell appears to wear its heart on its sleeve at the outset, its motivations are really much more complex.  By causing the viewer to revisit the way in which they comprehend the world, the film reminds us of the importance of putting aside our expectations of others.

And, in the end, that may be the most Canadian truth of all.

Lost in Paris – A bit of slapstick

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Fans of mild slapstick will be attracted to Lost in Paris. It is the work of Belgian comedy team of Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon. They bring a burlesque visual sensibility to their work.

The film is made up of three conjoined stories. When Canadian librarian Fiona (Gordon) gets a distressing letter from her 93 year old Aunt Martha (Emmanuelle Riva) who has been living in Paris the last forty years, she immediately heads to France. But when she gets there Martha has disappeared. Knowing no one in Paris and little French, she begins to search. But soon loses her backpack with all her belongings.

While Fiona heads off to the Canadian embassy to deal with her lost passport and seek help finding Martha, Dom (Abel), a hobo who lives in a tent beside the Seine, finds the backpack and immediately helps himself to anything useful. Events conspire for their paths to cross, but Fiona is not pleased with this man who now has her stuff. But having fallen in love with Fiona, Dom sets off to help her find her aunt.

Martha, we discover, has run away from her apartment because people from a nursing home were coming to take her. So she too is now homeless. Eventually all three stories come together, but in reality the plot is just the environment for various comic episodes.

The kind of physical comedy is in the style that reminded me of Laurel and Hardy. It is low key and situational. Much of the humor derives from Fiona’s nerdy, ungainly appearance and Dom’s total disregard for all social convention. The acting is very broad, as befits the burlesque style. The struggles to communicate adds to the comical nature.

Lost in Paris is a story of human vulnerability. All three of the characters are lost in some way. It is only when they find each other that they can find a chance for happiness or to know their way forward.

Photos courtesy of Oscilloscope

David Peck: Shimon Dusan (The Settlers)

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Shimon Dutan and Face2Face host David Peck talk about the “settlement enterprise”, racism, empathy, the West Bank and absolutes, Israel and why there’s reason for hope.

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Synopsis

Of the grievances and grudges that plague the Middle East, no issue is more incendiary than the Jewish-only settlements that have dotted the occupied West Bank for a half-century.

Canadian/Israeli Shimon Dotan’s acclaimed documentary The Settlers sets out to illustrate – through first-person accounts, historical footage and expert witness – how 400,000 motivated Israelis ended up in communities almost strategically placed between, and sometimes within, Arab Palestinian cities populated by the millions. It is a confounding tale of religious zeal and secular hatred, where an olive tree is an amorphous territorial border, and the burial of a stillborn baby amounts to a claim of political sovereignty over a city.

A Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities, he is an award-winning filmmaker with thirteen feature films to his credit. His films have been the recipients of the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival (The Smile of the Lamb), numerous Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Director (Repeat Dive; The Smile of the Lamb), Best Film at the Newport Beach Film Festival (You Can Thank Me Later) and the Special Jury Prize at Sundance (Hot House).

Dotan has taught political cinema at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University since 2003. He also teaches at The New School in New York City. He has previously taught at Tel Aviv University and at Concordia University in Montreal.

Dotan is the writer and director of The Settlers, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, and opened in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City on March 17.

You can listen to David Peck at DavidPeckLive.com

Sunday at NBFF

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You’ll note I never give you a preview of what I’ll see the next day when I make my report each day. That is because one never knows what will be sold out leading me to figure out a plan B (or plans B throughout the day). But then that is part of the charm of film festivals—not knowing where the plot will take you, like in a good movie.

Yesterday started with the documentary The Resilient Heart, which follows the work of cardiologist Dr. Valentan Fuster, who seeks to prevent heart disease through public health advocacy around the world. He has projects in Columbia, Spain, Grenada, Kenya, and Harlem which seek to teach children and communities about healthy lifestyles. His is an ambitious task. The film, however, really doesn’t serve to educate about heart disease itself or about the lifestyle changes that people can and should make.

Another doc from yesterday was City of Joy. The Democratic Republic of Congo has been a place of war and violence for two decades—much of it led by militias funded by multi-national corporations that seek to control the mining of materials used in our smartphones and computers. Some of the most affected victims of all this violence are women, because rape and sexual violence is used as a weapon of the war. In Bukavu, a city now filled with refugees, is a compound known as the City of Joy where women are given refuge and training to return to the world. The program was started by Dr. Denis Mukwege, who has served these violated and often mutilated women; woman’s rights activist Christine Schuler-Deschryver, and playwright and feminist Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues. The film includes accounts of horrendous rapes and violence. It also shows the growth that can take place as these women heal and find hope and a voice.

The narrative film I saw is Heaven’s Floor. Based on a true story, it recounts the story of Julia, a photographer in L.A., who goes on a trek across Baffin Island in the Canadian arctic for which she is totally unprepared. When she finds herself alone on the ice, she is rescued by a young Inuit girl, Malaya. Malaya is orphaned and being raised by her grandmother. She seeks a mother. Julia is convinced to bring her to L.A., but her husband wants nothing to do with it. I found the film a bit on the passive side. Julia, especially, seem to let things happen rather that being actively involved. The conflicts that arise never quite give rise to the kinds of moral issues that really should be addressed.

Anonymous – Hacking Goes Bad

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The advent of information technology has made a great many things possible—including crime. In Anonymous¸ Alex (Callen McAuliffe), a young man who is upset with the bank that fired his mother, sets off to disrupt the system through hacking. He learns of DarkWeb, a group that shares that goal and he seeks a way to get in. At first,  he is given some stuff to sell, then he is given credit card numbers. He has entered the world of cyber-crime: credit card fraud and identity theft. He connects with the streetwise Sye (Daniel Eric Gold) and Kira (Lorraine Nicholson) and together they expand their criminal enterprise trying to find their way to Z, the mastermind behind DarkWeb. However, it may well be that they are all just pawns in a game that could become very dangerous.

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It’s hard to feel much sympathy for Alex. We understand his anger, but it is clear that he has chosen to set aside morality for what he sees as a just cause. But even after it becomes obvious to him that in reality they are making money, but not “messing with the system” he makes no effort to change. There is no sense of remorse for the victims of the crimes he is committing. And, no, the crimes are not against the financial system he wants to be targeting.

Actually, the cyber aspect of the crimes is really just a detail. The crimes themselves are just everyday larceny. As to the motivation for the crimes, what may seem noble to Alex in his anger really is tied to his hubris and other people’s greed. There is very little here that is not an age-old tale of losing oneself in a string of bad decisions. Unfortunately, it is told without a great deal of redeeming insight that Alex will come out better in the end, so we come away from the film without a sense that the character has grown.

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Photos courtesy of Hacker Productions

AFIFest – More films from around the world

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Yesterday was another day of globetrotting at AFIFest Presented by Audi for me. One of the joys of film festivals is the chance to see the similarities and differences of cultures. That sometimes applies to the subcultures of American life we see as well. But it is especially true in foreign films. It is often very clear that in spite of the differences, we can very easily identify with the stories because the similarities are so strong.

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From Denmark comes a World War II film, Land of Mine. Actually the film is set just after the war. During the German occupation, Germany placed over two million mines along the Danish coast. The Danish army, now back in control, are forcing German POWs to clear the beaches of mines. It is a very dangerous job. (And one that I expect is outside what is permitted by the Geneva Convention.) The film follows about a dozen of these young soldiers who are placed under a Danish sergeant who has no love or compassion for them. As one Danish soldier says of the young soldiers, “If they’re old enough to fight, they’re old enough to clean up the mess.” Certainly the Danes believe that these Germans are expendable and don’t care a bit if they survive or not. But for the sergeant, there is a discovery of the humanity that he shares with the young Germans. Land of Mine opens in theaters in December and is Denmark’s official Oscar entry.

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Canada may not seem like globetrotting, but it is often a bit interesting to see films from Quebec that remind us that even in North America there are places that seem so like us, yet don’t even share our language. The Demons is the story of a ten year old boy growing up in suburban Montreal. Felix is very typical and the film is for the most part a slice of life look at typical preadolescent neuroses—worried about his parent’s marriage, his sexuality, his place in the school pecking order. About two thirds of the way through the film, there is a shift in tone that reminds us that some of the fears that children have may be very real and dangerous.

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Spain’s official Oscar entry is Pedro Almodovar’s Julieta. When we first see Julieta, she is happy. She’s preparing to leave Madrid with her boyfriend and move to Portugal. But a chance meeting on the street brings back memories of her earlier life—a marriage to a fisherman named Xoan, their daughter Antia, and the tragedy that changed her life. Now estranged from her daughter for over a decade, she begins to write a letter to her outlining her story. From the very beginning and the moody music that plays over the opening credits we are assured that this will be a dark and tense story. There is a sense in which Almodovar could be said to be channeling Hitchcock with this film. (And to me that is a very high compliment.) Like a Hitchcock movie, Julieta follows a path of descent in which a character borders on madness. Julieta opens in theaters near Christmas.

Photos provided by AFIFest

AFIFest – Easier Than a Trip to Cannes

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We don’t all get to go to Cannes for what may be considered the most prestigious film festival. I know I don’t make it there. But yesterday at AFIFest  (presented by Audi), I managed to see three films that all won awards at Cannes this year. And I didn’t have to pay for airfare and a hotel room.

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Ken Loach won his second Palme d’Or for I, Daniel Blake. (His first was for The Wind that Shakes the Barley in 2006.)  Loach’s films offer social criticism focusing on everyday people struggling with the issues of life. Daniel Blake is a carpenter who is off work because of a heart attack. Although his doctor says he can’t work, the bureaucracy had deemed him fit for work and has cut off his disability. He can, however, apply for job seekers’ assistance. As he deals with the heartless bureaucracy that is more concerned with the rules and procedures than actually helping people, he meets a young single mother trying to raise two children in the same system. This is a film about caring and non-caring. It is a reminder that those with financial struggles are people who deserve respect and compassion. The film will be in theaters around Christmas. Look for a fuller review then.

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The Iranian film The Salesman won the awards for Best Screenplay (Asghar Farhadi) and Best Actor (Shahab Hosseini) at Cannes. Farhadi’s films often deal with the relationship between a husband and wife. In The Salesman Emad and Rana are both actors who are in a production of Death of a Salesman. After Rana is attacked in their apartment, their relationship is under stress as Emad is out for revenge and Rana is feeling vulnerable and wanting everything to go away. Questions of vengeance and mercy play out—mostly by looking at how those choices affect Emad and Rana. The Salesman is Iran’s official Oscar entry.

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The Grand Prix is the second most prestigious award at Cannes. This year it went to the Canadian film It’s Only the End of the World. Louis is a playwright who left his home twelve years ago and is coming back for a visit. He tells us at the beginning of the film that this is a “journey to announce my death.” When he arrives at his mother’s home, his sister, brother and sister-in-law are all there. We soon discover that this is a family that defines itself by bickering with one another. Their times together are often uncomfortable. Louis has various one-on-one scenes with each of the others, but we know that these are people we wouldn’t want to be around any more than Louis has the last twelve years. At the same time, what role does Louis’s leaving have to do with the feelings that have developed in the family? It seems his return only serves as a catalyst to further exacerbate the fragile situation. It’s Only the End of the World is Canada’s official Oscar entry.

Photos provided by AFIFest presented by Audi

Saturday at Newport Beach Film Festival

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It seems that most every festival has a time travel conundrum, which I love. Something about the paradoxes involved appeals to me. This year at NBFF that is the French film House of Time. A reclusive genius invites a group of his friends to spend a weekend at a secluded chateau. He has studied Nazi documents about a very secret project and claims he has found a way to travel back 70 years. When he pushes the button on his invention, it seems they are back in 1944. Almost immediately a wounded woman arrives at the chateau, claiming to be part of the resistance. There are German soldiers at the gate. Have they really traveled back in time or is this a very elaborate ruse with actors playing their parts? The mystery remains—and even grows—even at the end of the film. It was great fun.

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Rwanda and Juliet follows a retired Dartmouth professor to Rwanda to stage a performance of Romeo and Juliet using Hutu and Tutsi survivors (mostly orphans) as actors. The idea is to use this play to speak of the need of reconciliation. Most of the film chronicles the rehearsal process, but also gives us a chance to meet some of the people involved and hear their stories. It is fine for that, but it really misses the opportunity to go deeper. A few days before they are scheduled to perform, the cast discusses what they are doing. Some issues come up that really need a deeper examination, such as whether twenty years after the genocide reconciliation has already happened or not, and whether it is the role of well-to-do North Americans to come to Rwanda to show them how to be reconciled. Such things are only touched on without going as deep as the questions deserve.

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Canadian politics is the backdrop for the comedy My Internship in Canada. Souverain, an idealistic young Haitian, turns up in the office of Steve Guibord, a Canadian Member of Parliament from rural Quebec, to be his intern. Guibord is an independent who really has no political power, but serves the people of his district well—mostly by being available to hear their complaints (that he can do nothing about). When the Prime Minister wants to send troops to a war, it turns out that Guibord represents the deciding vote. He decides to travel his district to hear what the people want, but gets caught between various factions that each want something that has nothing to do with the war. He must also deal with a division in his own home: his wife supports the war and his daughter opposes it. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is offering a cabinet position for his vote. Souverain, however, has a better understanding of the political situation than his boss. He serves as the most lovable Machiavelli ever.

April and the Extraordinary World – Is Science Our Best Hope?

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Will science and technology be our salvation? Of course, the obvious response is: has it yet? For every advancement we make through science, there is a price to be paid or an abuse of that discovery. But what if our technology didn’t evolve as it did the last century and a half? April and the Extraordinary World creates an alternate history beginning in 1870 in which the great advances in science since that time never happened. The animated film is a joint French/Belgian/Canadian production. I screened the film in French with subtitles, but some theaters will also be showing it dubbed in English.

The story begins on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War. When Emperor Napoleon III visits a scientist working on a serum that will make his soldiers invincible, a catastrophe changes the course of history. The war never happens, but the world’s best scientists begin disappearing. Without their discoveries, the world is stuck in the Age of Steam. Coal and wood are the main fuels. There are no electricity or internal combustion engines, no radio or telephones.

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Many years later, the scientist’s descendants are working on the same serum with the intent of making life better for everyone. But they must do it in secret since the few remaining scientists are being conscripted to serve the Empire. When the police find them and try to arrest them, only young April manages to escape along with her talking cat Darwin (the result of one of the earlier experiments.) Ten years pass and April is now working on her own to perfect the serum. She meets Julius, a young pickpocket who is trying to locate her for the police, and they are soon on an adventure to avoid capture, but instead discover that her parents are still alive in a far off jungle where all the scientists have been taken. The search for invincibility continues. But will it be used for the good of humankind or to subjugate people?

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Throughout the film, science and technology seem to be viewed as the answer to our problems—and the lack of science has left the world without advancement in all the ways we are used to. The use of coal and charcoal has left the world full of soot. So maybe science has made things better. But what of this Ultimate Serum that April and her family before her has been searching for? Will it be a cure all, or will it fall into the wrong hands like so much other science? Has our technology really made things that much better? At the end of the film (in nearly the current day) we hear a newscaster bragging about the energy crisis being solved by the seemingly inexhaustible supply of oil. We know that our use of technology has led to even greater pollution than in the “Age of Steam” and that we are in danger of drastically harming the whole of our planet. It is not science and technology that will save us, but the wisdom of how to use those things for the benefit of all.

Photos courtesy of Gkids