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truth

All Is True – The Bard’s Retirement

May 23, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“It’s not Hamnet you mourn; it’s yourself.”

Kenneth Branagh has always had an affinity for Shakespeare’s works. He has appeared in, written, and/or directed several screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Now, in All Is True, he portrays William Shakespeare in his years of retirement. To be sure, there is a great amount of conjecture in the script by Ben Elton, but that allows us to see this not just as a look back in time, but as an exploration of our own transitions in life.

The film opens with the Globe theater being destroyed by fire during the premiere of Henry VIII (which had an alternative title of All is True) in 1613. He returns to the family home in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he is greeted somewhat coldly by his wife Anne (Judy Dench) and daughters Susanna (Lydia Wilson) and Judith (Kathryn Wilder). While Shakespeare has been having a successful career in London, his family has seen little of him. As Anne tells him, “To us, you’re a guest.” (This she says while sending him to the guest room, because it has the best bed which befits a visitor.)

It is not just because of his long absence that William is somewhat estranged from his family. He is also still grieving the death of his son Hamnet, Judith’s twin, who died many years before as a child. William has idealized his son’s memory, and is visited by Hamnet’s ghost on occasion. Meanwhile Judith suffers from survivor’s guilt, which is a part of why she is still unmarried. Shakespeare’s other daughter, Susanna, is married to the local doctor, John Hall (Hadley Fraser), who is a Puritan. He sees the family as a bit of a challenge from his dour religious perspective.

On one level, this is the story of a man who has reached a point in life that he feels he wants to retire. He has returned home, hoping to reconnect with a family that has grown away from him. He’s also not quite sure what to do with his time, so be begins a garden as a memorial to Hamnet. After a lifetime of mental and verbal creativity, this physical work brings a new way of creating something. As a retired person, I appreciate the bit of uncertainty of what retired life should entail and how he can bring meaning to the time when one no longer is “productive” in the eyes of the world.

He is also facing a somewhat common experience of discovering how much of his family’s life he has missed by concentrating on his career. The fact that he could not be there for Hamnet’s funeral weighs heavy on him. But he also does not really know his grown daughters and their lives.

There is also a bit of a love story as William reconnects with his family, and especially Anne. Some may know that in his will, Shakespeare left his wife his “second best bed”. In the film, this is seen as a touching, loving, and perhaps a bit humorous act, that shows how much their relations grows during this film.

But it is also an examination of what constitutes truth. Shakespeare wrote a number of historical plays, but as he says in the film, “I never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” But there are many discoveries of truth throughout the film that bring the question of truth to the fore. Not least of which is the recounting of Hamnet’s death and what that means to various members of the family. There are also scandals that crop up around both of his daughters, and a history of scandal with William’s father. All of these may call for a hiding of the truth, to create a more satisfactory understanding of what has happened. (Not unlike the creation of this script from some historical points in Shakespeare’s later years.)

The film’s title pushes us to consider whether indeed “all is true” or as is stated at one point in the film, “nothing is true”. As the various truths within the story are hidden or revealed they create a reality that must then be addressed. The question becomes not so much what is or is not true, but rather what is the truth that we live in?

Photos by Robert Youngson. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Anne Hathaway, Ben Elton, Hadley Fraser, Judy Dench, Kathryn Wilder, Kenneth Branagh, Lydia Wilson, retirement, truth, William Shakespeare

Smallfoot: Truth Can Be Costly

December 6, 2018 by J. Alan Sharrer Leave a Comment

As a child, I remember reading about the legends of Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman, also known as the Yeti.  What in the world were these huge hairy creatures, and why were people unable to capture anything other than shadowy pictures of them?Were they simply afraid of people? Did they have something sinister to hide? Or were they allergic to anything relating to humanity?

Past films have done one of three things involving Bigfoot and/or Yetis: (1) identified them as gruesome monsters nobody wants to mess with, (2) portrayed them as creatures worth exploring the woods and mountains for, or (3) simply casting them as misunderstood beings.  Fairly recent examples of this last phenomenon include Harry and the Hendersons and Monsters, Inc.. We can now add to that Smallfoot, a animated feature from Warner Brothers.  Based on a book called Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablo, Smallfoot offers viewers a story about discovering the truth that’s wrapped in layers of colorful, pastel-tinted computer graphics. There are definitely some things kids (and adults alike) will take away from the film, but I feel like it cobbled too much from past movies, limiting its effectiveness.

In a nutshell, Smallfoot is about a land of Yetis who seem to have the perfect life living on their mountain perch.  Nobody visits their ‘world’ and they don’t visit anyone—mainly because the world ends in a cloudbank of unknown depth (paralleling Storks). Nobody is convicted to go beyond what they already know as safe (paralleling The Giver).  A tight set of rules, drawn on stones in pictorial form and worn by the Stonekeeper (voiced by the rapper Common), governs the Yetis in an attempt to keep them safe and insulated (again, paralleling The Giver).  Questioning is severely frowned upon (paralleling 1984).  When Migo (voiced by Channing Tatum) spots a Smallfoot—err, human, he’s immediately fascinated.  Maybe the stones were incorrect!  But the human suddenly parachutes below the bank of clouds, leaving Migo (and later, a few additional Yeti) curious at what lies below.  When he discovers humans aren’t as bad as one might think, Migo brings his discovery to the attention of the people and the Stonekeeper. At this point, the film spirals into the realm of why humans and Yetis cannot co-exist before a betrayal-redemption sequence (including a chase through the Pac-Man inspired town where the humans live) occurs. In addition, a number of peppy songs contribute to making the film lighthearted, even when the subject matter becomes more serious in nature.

The quality of the animation is quite good, though it’s in more in the vein of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs versus anything Pixar-related. As for the characters, Migo is somewhat memorable for a lead, as he discovers himself and what he truly believes in while filling in the blanks about questions he’s always had. The Stonekeeper has a unique outfit along with truths to tell—and hide (although it’s pretty jarring to hear a rapper’s voice leading the group at first). The group that seems to understand Migo are completely serviceable—except for Fleem (Ely Henry), who attempts comic relief but completely falls flat. Percy (James Corden) is a Steve Irwin wannabe who wants to get rich but finds something more when he looks beyond his dreams, plans, and numerous selfies.

There are a number of themes kids and adults alike will be able to take from a viewing of Smallfoot, especially in the area of telling the truth. Migo sees the Smallfoot (i.e., Percy) and, when he tells the community, he is banished because it goes against the stones and causes the other Yetis to start questioning. At this point, he could’ve simply accepted the ruling of the Stonekeeper and moved on, but he held fast to what he believed, found Percy, and proved they exist.  Later, he suppresses this truth in the name of keeping the Yetis safe.  However, Migo learns that telling the truth can be costly. In a similar vein, we can consider the apostles who were commissioned by Jesus in Matthew 28 to tell the world about him.  They knew what the truth was, but not everyone wanted to hear and/or believe it.  As a result, persecution followed (and, in some cases, death).  We need to understand that it’s always better to tell the truth about what we believe rather than give in and confuse and/or deny our beliefs.

Kids are going to find Smallfoot to be an entertaining, joyous romp peppered with lessons they’ll be talking about on the way home from the theater. Adults may also find this to be the case.

Smallfoot is in theatres now.

For audio of our interview with Smallfoot writer/director Karey Kirkpatrick, click here.

The special features on the Blu-ray include the Yeti Set Go Sing-Along, the “Super Soozie” Mini Movie featuring Soozie, the featurette on “The Secret of the Yeti Stones,” “Yeti or Not, Here They Come!”, and the music videos for Nial Horran’s “Finally Free,” Cyn’s “Moment of Truth,” and “Wonderful Life.”  

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: 1984, A Walk in the Dark, Acts, Bigfoot, Channing Tatum, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Common, Harry and the Hendersons, james corden, Jesus, Migo, Monsters Inc, Sergio Pablo, smallfoot, Stephen, steve irwin, Stonekeeper, storks, The Giver, truth, Yeti

HotDocs ’17: Becoming Bond

May 3, 2017 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” – Winston Churchill

Opening with the above Churchill quote the documentary Becoming Bond may be the strangest example of story-telling in recent memory.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum, Becoming Bond tells the story of one-and-done Bond actor George Lazenby—or rather, allows Lazenby to tell his own story. Combining both interview, archival footage and dramatic recreations of his life, the film recounts Lazenby’s life from a young Australian ‘larrikin’ until after his role as the famed British agent in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.  (Incidentally, the film even explains the surprising reason why Lazenby only took on the iconic role once.)  Sharing his relationships, sexual conquests and, of course, his experience as Bond, the film is both character piece and classic comedy at the same time.

In his interview segments, one can see why Lazenby—now seventy-six years old—was offered the Bond role in the first place.  While he comes from modest roots (he was actually a used car salesman prior to this acting debut), Lazenby still has incredible charm, confidence and a playful sense of braggadocio.  In many ways, he is the underdog that you cannot help but cheer on.  (No spoilers but his account of how he actually locks down the James Bond role is so bizarre that you simply won’t believe it.)

And, herein lies the irony of Becoming Bond.

While Lazenby seems earnest in his desire to share openly all aspects of his life, the film constantly seems to wink at the audience in the most playful of ways.  Through its use of studio sets in the historic re-enactments, the imagery takes on an ‘old Hollywood’ look (incidentally, not unlike the Bond films themselves).  By casting recognizable actors (Dana Carvey, Jane Seymour, Jeff Garlin, and more) in key roles, Greenbaum also manages to take the audience out of the documented moment, giving it the feel of a television sit-com or Monty Python sketch. Through the use of all of these stylistic devices, the film spins its narrative in such a way as to be both convincing and unbelievable.

While not necessarily it’s goal (or is it?), Becoming Bond actually raises some interesting questions about the nature of truth in this regard.  Is an event true because it’s how we remember it?  (After all, when asked how much of his story is true, Lazenby seamlessly answers “How could I remember it if it isn’t true?”)  Is it objective? Becoming Bond seems to land somewhere in between, where truth is a living construct, constantly moving in the ebb and flow of memory. In the end, Lazenby’s tale is one you absolutely want to believe—but does that mean it’s actually true?  After all, as Lazenby believes, “You can defy what people expect of you and write your own story.”

This is a story that is so intriguing, you’ll have to see it to believe it.

Trust me.

Becoming Bond is playing at May 3, 8:30 pm, TIFF 1; May 4, 3:45 pm,Isabel Bader; May 5, 7 pm, TIFF 1

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, HotDocs Tagged With: Becoming Bond, Dana Carvey, George Lazenby, hulu, James Bond, Jane Seymour, Jeff Garlin, Josh Greenbaum, lies, Monty Python, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, sex, truth

David Peck: Kevan Funk (director, HELLO DESTROYER)

April 5, 2017 by Steve Norton 2 Comments

ScreenFish is excited to announce their involvement with renowned interviewer David Peck!  David is the host of Face2Face and the founder of SoChange.ca, an organization committed to seeing social change. In addition to our regular podcasts, we will also be offering special coverage of his conversations with other members of the film industry on our site as well.  Welcome, David!

He had the privilege of interviewing Kevan Funk at TIFF this past year. He’s a Canadian Screen Award nominated film maker about this new movie Hello Destroyer. They talk about truth, identity and mental health issues and, of course, hockey.

You can find the interview here.

Filed Under: Film, Interviews, TIFF Tagged With: Canadian Screen Award, David Peck, documentary, Hello Destroyer, hockey, identity, Kevan Funk, mental health issue, NHL, TIFF, truth

Trump may save truth for us yet

February 23, 2017 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

what i’m about to
say may seem naive;
hopeful, at least;
and it’s certainly so
that it’s nothing new;
so i’m also going to
keep it neat and clean,
concise and pointed

here it is:

though so far the
“reality” show that is
Trump –
from his pre-politics life
and celebrity/star status,
to his candidacy
and presidency –
has been marked by
an extreme atruthiness
(a distinct disdain for truth,
a purposeful distortion of it for gain),
Trump may save truth for us yet

why/ how?

because:
by flaunting his atruthiness so,
by virtue of it becoming
so uniformly known,
so undeniably alarming,
truth itself is becoming
the topic of the day
in a unique and new way

and –
so hopes naive me –
maybe, hopefully,
this state of affairs
can’t help but
benefit, increase,
somehow vindicate truth,
no matter how
counterintuitive, how
unexpected it may seem

here’s another way
to think about this:
we’re all familiar with
Orwell and “doublespeak;”
we’ve always known that
politicians lie…….

but this new,
nearly unbelievable
“post-truth” world of “alternative facts”
so clearly calls truth itself
and caring about what’s true
into question
(see, e.g. “How Trump Is Trying to Govern America Like an Internet Troll”
where Katherine Cross quips,
“All of a sudden, one is a patsy for caring, a fool for believing in the power of truth telling.”),
that maybe,
maybe,
we’ll come out the other side,
ironically,
less jaded, less cynical,
more truth lovers and seekers

here’s another way
to think about this:
we’re all familiar with
the tactic of distraction
as a means to
mask the truth –
the “razzle dazzle”
sung about in the musical Chicago
that keeps people from hearing
“the truth above the roar” –
and how the mass media
helps mediate this method;
how it can itself become
just a tool in the hand
of a deceitful man……

but in Trump’s America,
the “opposition party” media,
the “fake news,”
insofar as they
have been positioned
as enemies of the state
precisely on this point,
have a real opportunity
to participate in,
to restore value to,
to help save
truth telling and truth itself

finally,
here’s another way
to think about this:
we’re (some of us)
familiar with the idea of
postmodernism –
that old-by-now position
that so smugly sees
truth as passe –
and maybe (some of us)
have considered
this president or that one
to be a “postmodern president”
(a quick Googling, in fact,
finds this term applied to, at least,
Clinton, Bush, Obama
and (of course) Trump himself
(see, e.g., the excellent “Trump is the ultimate postmodern presidential candidate – and he’s been a long time coming”))……..

but i submit that
Trump, truly,
is the end of postmodernism
in the sense that:
if one calls truth itself into question
for so long,
so casually,
allowing it to be replaced
with the muddy waters
of relativism and celebrityism
and meism (even nationalism,
conservatism, liberalism)
or any other kind of ism
except truthism –
that old-school, ancient,
passe version of truth;
you know:
objective, “capital-T Truth;”
that Bibley kind of truth even,
where when the question
“What is truth?” is posed,
there are actually answers
(see, e.g., John 14:6) –
what else could one expect,
but the ultimate ascension of
this person, this thing,
capital-T Trump:
the incarnation of,
the walking embodiment of,
the end of
this chosen path?

it’s like:
we asked for it
and now we’ve got it.
happy?

i’m saying:
maybe not.

maybe we’re not happy.

maybe, just maybe,
because this current
atruthiness is so atruthy,
maybe not

maybe, just maybe,
because this current
disdain for the truth is
such disdain,
maybe not

maybe, just maybe,
because truth’s distortion
is currently so distorted for gain,
perhaps,
perhaps,
maybe, just maybe –
so hopes naive me –
Trump may save truth for us yet

Filed Under: Current Events, Editorial Tagged With: alternative facts, Christian, culture, fake news, Jesus, media, opposition party, post-truth, postmodern, postmodernism, president trump, reality, Reality TV, relativism, spiritual, Trump, truth

3.6 Where to Find FANTASTIC BEASTS

November 29, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

la-et-hc-first-look-harry-potter-prequel-fantastic-beasts-20151104

ScreenFish’s ‘month of magic’ concludes with a look at J.K. Rowling’s FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM! This week, Steve is joined by returnee Allen Forrest to talk about magic, truth and fear of the unknown.

http://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/3.6-Fantastic-Beasts-.mp3

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

3-6-fantastic-beasts

A very special thanks to Allen Forrest for joining us this week!

fantasticbeasts

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: Dumbledore, Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, Fear, Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Johnny Depp, magic, muggle, Newt, Newt Scamander, Niffler, nomag, truth, Wizard, Wizarding World

Exiting the ROOM (Oscar Spotlight)

February 27, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

room 2

Caution:  The following review contains spoilers.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Room tells the story of Joy, a woman who has been held prisoner as a sex slave for the last 7 years. During that time, she gives birth to her son, Jack and all that he knows is contained within the walls of their tiny, single room. After finally achieving their freedom, Jack and Joy breathe fresh air for the first time in years… but are they truly free?

In many ways, this is the quiet nominee for best picture. No, I don’t mean any lack of dialogue or music. (We’ll leave that category to The Revenant or Mad Max: Fury Road.) Rather, although this is one of the more deserving nominees in the category, it’s also one of the films with the least amount of viewership.

It’s their mistake.

Powerful from the first scene to the last, Room delivers a beautiful and moving portrait of the damage left in the shadow of sexual abuse and the challenges of moving forward afterwards. What’s more, in an unexpected turn, Abramson chooses to tell the story through the perspective of Jack’s young 5-year old eyes. As a result, the film manages to tell its story with a sense of wonder, fear and innocence that seems to make each moment feel fresh. (It also manages to keep the film from taking a more exploitative tone, which would have been a temptation for many other filmmakers.)

As Jack’s world expands beyond his (albeit brief) life experiences, he is forced to readjust his entire understanding of the universe. Whereas he has been told since birth that there is nothing but outer space beyond the walls of Room, now he is forced to accept that there are trees… and pets… and other people. The life he knew is only a small part of the world that really exists.

room1

Scripture says that the ‘truth will set you free’… but this film takes its time with responding to this idea.

As he and Joy get to experience new life, the question is whether or not they will ever actually experience freedom. Both characters have been damaged deeply and their spiritual journey has only begun. In many ways, this journey is a powerful depiction of our experience with the Gospel. While the story of Christ’s life, death and resurrection promises freedom, our story does not end when in that moment of new spiritual reality. It is just beginning. In fact, all of us who accept Christ must still deal with our stories from the past.

It is possible for one to both breathe the air and yearn for the life we once knew at the same time.

The heart of the Gospel is such that, despite our past hurts, we can begin to see that hope lies outside of ourselves. We understand that, because Christ loves us, we have value. We matter. We were created in His image and that has stayed (even if we’ve mucked it up a little bit.)

No one can take that away from us.

And there is hope within that.

The journeys of Jack and his mother in Room are very different, to be sure. Without spoiling too much, it is fair to say that, while one is able to slowly breathe the joy of new life, the other finds separation from the past to be far more difficult. They are forced to decide whether they’re willing to nervously begin to step into their new life. Their freedom becomes less about the man ‘Old Nick’ and becomes focused on the damage left by him. In the end, they must allow themselves to discover that the hope from their lives lies beyond the walls of Room.

In the end, they must allow themselves to believe that the truth can set them free.

Filed Under: Film, Oscar Spotlight Tagged With: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Lenny Abrahamson, Oscars, Room, truth

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