Navigating the thoroughfares and back alleys of the Calgary International Film Festival can be an intimidating affair. To make the task a little easier, the cinematic experts at Fast Forward have compiled this handy sampling of the fest’s offerings. Of course, this is by no means a comprehensive listing of the films available, so be sure to check out CIFF’s website at www.calgaryfilm.com.
ADRENALINE
(U.S.A., 2007)
Directed by Robert Lynn
Sept. 21, 9 p.m., Plaza;
Sept. 22, 1:30 p.m., Plaza
It’s beginning to look like filming a whole movie in a single shot is a whole lot cooler in concept than execution. Sadly, director Robert Lynn’s film Adrenaline joins Russian Arc in the ranks of thoroughly boring, if ambitious, one-shot films. While Adrenaline thankfully opts for more of a plot than the glorified museum tour of its esthetic predecessor, it ends up just as dull and gimmicky.
The film follows Chris Thompson (David Alford) as he buys a new truck, complete with an advanced satellite system with access to all of his personal information. After dropping his daughter off at swimming practice, the system is hacked by a man known only as Harvey (Reed Diamond), who claims to have kidnapped Chris’s daughter. To win her back, Chris must successfully complete a series of tasks culminating in a bank robbery.
With this tired plot in tow, Lynn tries to use the single-shot approach to ratchet up the psychological tension, but a series of uninspired performances by everyone save Alford rob the film of its gravity. Add far too many minutes of what are essentially driving instructions and a few twists as predictable as the rest of the story and Adrenaline ends up completely lacking anything that could get its namesake flowing.
Garth Paulson
*****
ANDREW JENKS, ROOM 335
(U.S.A., 2006)
Directed by Andrew Jenks
Sept. 27, 4 p.m., Glenbow
“We would never have even thought of putting our parents in a place like this,” says one of the residents of Harbor Place, the assisted living home that 19-year-old Andrew Jenks checks himself into for this documentary. He says that it’s because he feels his generation is missing out on the chance to learn from its elders, though the fact that it’s Jenks’s name on the marquee hints that some self-promotion might be involved. Regardless of intent, he has a point, and his documentary does a good job of showing the faces of a segment of the population that the big screen typically ignores. Take Tammy, for example, a surprisingly rambunctious nonagenarian who lives for making others smile or Bill, a wisecracker who takes an instant liking to Jenks and his documentary crew. The young filmmakers don’t quite have the skill to capture the more sombre moments, but when they put all pretense aside and let Harbor Place’s residents take the spotlight, the film hits its stride.
Peter Hemminger
*****
BECKY SHARP
(U.S.A., 1935)
Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m., Plaza
An early film adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, Becky Sharp is also the first feature-length film to be shot on three-strip Technicolor, a fact played up in the opening shot of bright-faced young women poking their heads through grey curtains. While its historical significance alone should be enough to justify a viewing, it’s certainly not the only reason to watch. Sharp’s tale of an indomitable social climber is every bit the charmer it must’ve been for early audiences, with snappy banter and excellent performances throughout. Proof that there’s a reason they were called the golden days of cinema.
Peter Hemminger
*****
BODY/ANTIBODY
(U.S.A., 2007)
Directed by Kerry Douglas Dye and Jordan Hoffman
Sept. 28, 9 p.m., Uptown
Kip Polyard (Robert Gomes) suffers from extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder — he lives, works and washes (and washes, and washes) in a freakishly clean Manhattan apartment, which he hasn’t left in nearly a year. Luckily for him, his luxurious hideaway is rent-controlled, meaning that he can afford to indulge his shut-in behaviour. Kip’s perfectly controlled environment is threatened when he falls in love with Celine (Leslie Kendall), his loopy new neighbour, who unfortunately comes with a violent ex-boyfriend. At times creepy, funny, suspenseful and even gruesome, Body/Antibody’s implausible film noir plot shouldn’t work as well as it does, especially on a low budget. However, thanks to the lead actors’ textured performances and the film’s sparse but tense atmosphere, this is one of the surprise gems of this year’s festival.
Elizabeth Chorney-Booth
*****
THE BODYBUILDER AND I
(Canada, 2007)
Directed by Bryan Friedman
Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m., Globe
Bryan Friedman’s debut documentary The Bodybuilder and I is more “dear diary” than exposé, but oddly compelling in its portrayal of aging men transforming themselves into glistening, pounded steaks (sans genitals) for no apparent reason. The doc follows Friedman’s dad, 59-year-old Bill, as he prepares for a bodybuilding competition in Florida. Friedman says he needed to make the documentary as a way of coming to terms with Bill’s status as a deadbeat dad. So, you get lots of sad-sack narration and the requisite on-screen crying. However, you also get to see Bill — who is a total prick, by the way — in his glory, as he mocks his geriatric competitors and generally just acts like a douche bag.
Friedman’s introspective journey isn’t very compelling, and the interviews and footage of his father are used mainly to show how much of a dick he is. That said, there’s a lot to recommend in The Bodybuilder and I. Friedman interviews a few of Bill’s wacky opponents, who include an alopecia-addled freak who poses in front of a giant mirror while listening to Celiné Dion, and another who looks like Mel Brooks’s character Yogurt from Spaceballs. Also, plenty of strange footage from the competition, where all of the bodybuilders acquire a similar look of huge, golden-muscled fetuses posing to “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” before dazed Floridians.
Bryn Evans
*****
BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!
(Canada, U.S.A., 2006)
Directed by Guy Maddin
Sept. 24, 9:30 p.m., Globe
Brand Upon the Brain!, the latest film from Winnipeg director Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World), is about as twisted as they come. Shot almost entirely in black-and-white and largely silent except for the occasional narration, the film skips around from kooky art-house project to expressionist horror and teenage mystery. This experimentation produces a film that is simultaneously aggravating, occasionally gripping and profoundly disturbing.
Brand’s story begins with a fictional Maddin (Erik Steffen Maahs) returning to his childhood island to fulfil the dying request of his mother (Gretchen Krich). Once there, Maddin begins recalling his twisted childhood, and the bulk of the movie consists of flashbacks of a young Maddin (Sullivan Brown) confronted with a dizzying set of problems, including Oedipal dealings with his mother, unrequited love for a famous teen detective, holes in orphans’ heads, clandestine lesbian encounters and reverse aging.
Stringing this fractured story along with scattered images that quickly flash across the screen and captions repeatedly exclaiming phrases like “The past!” and “Secrets!,” Maddin sculpts Brand Upon the Brain! as the definition of pretension. In doing so, he also imbues his film with a feeling not unlike a nightmare: it is unsettling, strangely absorbing and it lingers in your mind, but you’d rather it not be there in the first place.
Garth Paulson
*****
CONFESSIONS OF AN
INNOCENT MAN
(Canada, 2007)
Directed by David Paperny
Sept. 22, 1:15 p.m., Globe
William Sampson’s torture and incarceration made headlines back in 2000 when he, along with three friends, was falsely accused of a car bombing and stuck in a Saudi Arabia jail for nearly three years. This documentary (narrated by Martin Sheen) dramatizes Sampson’s story, previously told in his memoir of the same name. Sampson is still a prickly, divisive character, although his story of beatings and rape is horrific, and a warning to westerners living or working abroad. Which is perhaps the scariest thing: post-9/11, all countries collude in shady human rights issues, and if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, you’re fucked.
Bryn Evans
*****
DIRTY COUNTRY
(U.S.A., 2007)
Directed by Joe Pickett
and Nick Prueher
Sept. 28, 9 p.m., Uptown;
Sept. 29, 9:30 p.m., Uptown
Larry Pierce is an unassuming middle-aged family man with a secret. When he’s not working at his job at an auto parts factory, Pierce writes and performs X-rated country songs, which he records for a label that primarily services American truck stops. After losing his job, Larry hooks up with an equally potty-mouthed (and surprisingly successful) rock band named –itis, who make it their mission to lift him out of obscurity. While Pierce’s story is definitely interesting, it’s hard to become too attached to him, since his music is so incredibly goofy (sample titles include “My Cold Pecker” and “She Makes My Peter Stand Up”). Plus, with ill-timed cut-aways to stories about other unsung heroes of raunch-rock and repetitive interviews with academic experts, Dirty Country loses its charm well before its climax, just like the music that it celebrates.
Elizabeth Chorney-Booth
*****
THE DOGWALKER
(Canada, 2007)
Directed by Rosie Dransfeld
Sept. 30, 7 p.m., Plaza
The Dogwalker follows Michael Borowski, a 40-something Edmonton man who suffered a serious brain injury when hit by a car at the age of six. Rejected by his parents in his teens and unable to sustain a serious relationship with another adult, the immediately likable Michael lives on the poverty line without much emotional or financial support. Since he doesn’t quite understand or accept his disability, Michael only knows that he finds peace and a sense of self-worth from walking his neighbours’ dogs — so that’s what he does. Shot in a cinéma-vérité style over what appears to be a period of about a year, The Dogwalker is a sensitive and surprisingly layered documentary.
Elizabeth Chorney-Booth
*****
DRAINED
(O CHEIRO DO RALO)
(Brazil, 2006)
Directed by Heitor Dhalia
Sept. 26, 8:45 p.m., Uptown; Sept. 28, 9:30 p.m., Globe;
Sept. 30, 3:30 p.m., Globe
Drained is the story of Lourenco, a Brazilian dirt merchant who becomes obsessed with a stench emanating from the drain in his office bathroom and with the backside of a local waitress. Plot aside, it’s a surrealist comedy about the destructive nature of overly consumptive lifestyles. Combining the two synopsis: this is the kind of film that, if you ever called it a “movie” in front of its creators, you’d likely find yourself punched in the face.
That essential observation aside, it does back up its pretense with a smart narrative, a great soundtrack, fabulous performances, beautiful cinematography, outstanding production design and, well, you get the idea. It’s a great film, but it’s clearly been designed to be viewed as art and not popcorn entertainment. Anyone who can get past that will be sweetly rewarded.
Kyle Francis
*****
DR. BRONNER’S MAGIC
SOAP BOX
(U.S.A., 2006)
Directed by Sara Lamm
Sept. 29, 1 p.m., Eau Claire
It’s hard to take someone who arbitrarily gives themselves the title of “doctor” seriously. At least, that might be the prejudice most audience members will have going into Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Box, a documentary that looks at the life of “Dr.” E.H Bronner, and the ripples it sent through the lives of everyone around him. One version of Bronner the film suggests is that of an eccentric-but-brilliant soapmaker with lofty ideas about morality and religion that he plastered to every bottle of soap he made, a very long essay in very small print. Other possible versions of Bronner include a man driven insane by the death of his parents in the Holocaust, a neglectful parent and an unstable pundit.
Director Sara Lamm smartly leaves her own opinions on Bronner out of the film as much as possible, simply capturing as much as she could and leaving the audience to ponder the question: is eccentricity really so far off from madness? Well shot, cleverly edited, thought-provoking and heartbreaking, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Box is beautifully executed, if somewhat idiosyncratic by the nature of its subject. Not to be missed by documentary and, uh, soap fans alike.
Kyle Francis
*****
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
(Germany/Turkey, 2007)
Directed by Fatih Akin
Sept. 27, 6:45 p.m., Uptown
Set in Turkey and Germany, The Edge of Heaven tells a set of connected but not quite intersecting stories. Ali is an elderly widower living alone in Germany. His son, Nejat, is a professor at a German university. Ali takes a shine to one of the prostitutes he frequents, a Turkish woman named Yeter, and asks her to move in with him. She does, but unfortunately is killed when Ali accidentally strikes her down. Ali goes off to jail, and Nejat, feeling guilty, sets off to find Yeter’s daughter, a twentysomething named Ayten who still lives in Turkey. Ayten’s life is itself a bit complicated. She is a member of a political resistance group, and escapes dramatically one day to Germany. So, Nejat is in Turkey looking for Ayten, and Ayten is in Germany (under an assumed name) searching for her mother. The plot is complicated but not hard to follow and takes a backseat to character development, which is handled well. The talented cast give depth to their characters, and the relationships they develop with one another are strange but understandable as we get to know their quirks.
Aneka Rao
*****
THE GOODTIMESKID
(U.S.A., 2006)
Directed by Azazel Jacobs
Sept. 23, 7 p.m., Eau Claire
The sophomore work by Azazel Jacobs, son of avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs, The GoodTimesKid is the story of two men named Rodolfo Kano. One, played by Jacobs, is a middle-aged depressive. The other is a twentysomething punk rocker in a bad relationship. Their lives intersect suddenly when they turn up at the same army recruitment agency. Intrigued by the coincidence, Rodolfo No. 1 tries to initiate conversation with Rodolfo No. 2. He is brushed off, and decides to follow Rodolfo No. 2. This provides the basis for the rest of the movie, as Rodolfo No. 1 watches Rodolfo No. 2 sit in a graveyard for a few hours, fight with his girlfriend and wander around the city. There is little dialogue and no real point or plot. Still, it is nicely shot (on 35mm film stolen from a big budget movie) and the girlfriend, played by Sara Diaz, has a strangely captivating screen presence.
Aneka Rao
*****
HOME SONG STORIES
(Australia, 2007)
Directed by Tony Ayres
Sept. 21, 9:30 p.m., Eau Claire;
Sept. 22, 3:30 p.m., Eau Claire
Australian writer-director Tony Ayres dedicates Home Song Stories to his mother, which is surprising given the film’s unflattering portrayal of the mom. Ayres pulls no punches in his script, showcasing mother Rose’s (Joan Chen) proclivity for infidelity, manipulation and bouts of depression that have young Tom and his sister May on guard for suicide attempts. The film is framed by scenes of an adult Tom describing his habit of writing his mother’s story, but the device is unnecessary and actually detracts a bit from the dysfunction on display. Rose is hard to root for as she takes advantage of Aussie soldier Bill’s hospitality and affection, but that makes the occasional moments of clarity in her life all the more painful, and Chen hits all the right notes in her performance. Shot in vivid colours and propped by strong performances from the adult leads, Stories comes across as a note to a mother Ayres isn’t sure how to love.
Peter Hemminger
*****
IT’S GONNA GET WORSE
(…A BUDE HUR!)
(Czech Republic, 2006)
Directed by Petr Nikolaev
Sept. 22, 9:45 p.m., Globe;
Sept. 23, 6:45 p.m., Globe
With all the rhetoric that spun out of the Cold War about the evil of the former Soviet states, it’s sometimes easy to forget that there were normal people living behind the Iron Curtain. Sure, they spoke different languages and their governments collectivized everything, but the people on either side were pretty similar. The greatest strength of Czech director Petr Nikolaev’s film It’s Gonna Get Worse is illustrating these similarities.
The film focuses on a ragtag group of Czechoslovakian youths who are preoccupied with doing what youths did during the Soviet reign in that country. They drink, do drugs, have sex and partake in mild skirmishes with authority for a laugh. As the film progresses, these conflicts escalate in scale as the communist authorities’ desire for productivity and order continually clash with the group’s devil-may-care search for fun.
Structurally speaking, the film is a mess. Scenes shift from one to the next without providing any idea of whether a few minutes or weeks have passed, while Nikolaev leaves audiences to assume certain relationships are important without ever giving them a reason to do so. Despite these noticeable flaws, watching Olin and his revolving gang shamble through life is an engrossing experience and a potent reminder that the only real difference between youths on either side of the Cold War was that those on the Soviet side had a bit more to rebel against.
Garth Paulson
*****
KIVIUQ
(Canada, 2007)
Directed by John Houston
Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Globe
The stories are as old as the Inuit people and serve as a cornerstone of their cultural mythology. Kiviuq is the wily and resourceful central character of the Inuit creation stories. Set adrift by a tempest that kills his fellow hunters, Kiviuq’s adventures are a series of parables that rival Odysseus.
For years, missionaries worked zealously to erase Kiviuq from Inuit discourse and memory, attempting to replace these stories with the Christian Bible. Although many Iqaluit youth had never heard the Kiviuq stories, they live in the memories of a few community elders. These elders come together with youth to enact the stories of Kiviuq on a community hall stage. Kiviuq director John Houston walks the line between telling the long-lost stories, and documenting a powerful community project.
Shot in Iqaluit, Kiviuq uses minimalist staging and occasional shots of an audience that represents the community to whom the stories are being told. The film is entirely in Inuktitut, with subtitling in more than half a dozen different languages. It is almost beside the point whether others watch this film. It is clearly an act of love, created within and directed to the Inuit community as a record and celebration of a piece of their history that was very nearly lost to them permanently.
Shereen Samuels
*****
THE LAST TRAIN TO FREO
(Australia, 2006)
Directed by Jeremy Sims
Sept. 25, 9 p.m., Plaza;
Sept. 29, 9:15 p.m., Plaza
What starts as a generic ode to Quentin Tarantino-inspired gangster flicks becomes a bizarre and unintentional farce with its groan-inducing twists and turns. Thank God, too, because it makes for a far more enjoyable experience. Two thugs, the kind who speak in curse-riddled soliloquies and drop cultural references to Mozart, spend their newfound freedom from jail on the last train into the port city of Fremantle. They’re joined by a writer, a law student and a housewife who has just left her husband. Originally written as a play, director Jeremy Sims seems uninterested in moving the film beyond its single location. The cast, though, brings an unbound energy that keeps everything moving apace. In fact, their performances keep the film together even as the plot threatens to snap under the most half-baked twists and turns. Despite winning gobs of awards in its homeland of Australia (mostly for its actors), The Last Train to Fredo shouldn’t really be winning awards. It’s just a ludicrously good time.
Alan Cho
*****
LET’S ALL HATE TORONTO
(Canada, 2007)
Directed by Robert Spence
and Albert Nerenberg
Sept. 22, 6:45 p.m., Plaza
First things first: Toronto is a great city. Sure, it’s dirty and overcrowded and can be intimidating, but generally, it doesn’t deserve most of the ire it receives from the residents of just about every other municipality in Canada.
Let’s All Hate Toronto is a comic documentary that cheekily questions the rest of Canada’s dislike of good old T.O. Co-director (and self-proclaimed “Mr. Toronto”) Robert Spence dons an eye patch and a bad suit and travels the country to spread the Toronto love, all the while insulting pretty much everyone he meets and affirming Canadians’ suspicions that all Torontonians are assholes.
A light and irreverent documentary, Let’s All Hate Toronto doesn’t actually accomplish very much as far as making a case either for or against Canada’s biggest city, but it should prove entertaining for Toronto lovers and haters alike.
Elizabeth Chorney-Booth
*****
THE MEMORY THIEF
(U.S.A., 2007)
Directed by Gil Kofman
Sept. 24, 7 p.m., Globe;
Sept. 30, 1:30 p.m., Glenbow
Gil Kofman’s debut feature film is a Holocaust movie for those of us too young to remember or really understand the Second World War’s impact on the Jewish community in America. Rather than examining how the concentration camps affected survivors and the families of those killed, Kofman looks at how younger generations — particularly filmmakers and audiences — have reprocessed the atrocities. Mark Webber stars as Lukas, a lonely toll booth collector who, through matters of circumstance, becomes immersed in the testimonies of survivors. His interest quickly turns to overwhelming obsession and threatens to tear apart his own life. Powerful and very well acted, The Memory Thief’s level of intensity does at times get a little too over-the-top to remain plausible, but it’s an intriguing analysis of how and why we pay service to the tragedies of the past.
Elizabeth Chorney-Booth
*****
MONSTER CAMP
(U.S.A., 2007)
Directed by Cullen Hoback
Sept. 22, 9:30 p.m., Globe;
Sept. 30, 1 p.m., Eau Claire
Depending on your point of view, the world of Live Action Role Playing (LARPing) is either filled with fantasy and adventure, or it is filled with people wearing helmets and fun-fur and swinging padded batons at each other in the woods.
This breezy documentary follows a group of LARPers during a few of their 48-hour fantasy gaming events, in which participants dress up as knights, “sea elves” and zombie lizards while pelting one another with little cloth birdseed pouches and yelling out incantations like “I call upon Chaos to cause critical wounds!” The logistics of organizing these huge weekend-long events are staggering, and the players themselves have to memorize hundreds of rules and calculate complex mathematics in their heads while their buddies hit them with “boffer” swords, yelling things like “14 poison! 14 poison!.” The spectacle is simultaneously ridiculous and fascinating, as dozens of nerds emerge from their mothers’ basements in order to actually play outdoors and meet new people for a change. Monster Camp offers a delightful glimpse into a wonderfully eccentric subculture and will leave all viewers tickled and entertained, regardless of their attitudes towards the activity. Highly recommended.
John Tebbutt
*****
THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM
AND OTHER STORIES
(Bulgaria, 2007)
Directed by Andrey Paounov
Sept. 23, 3:45 p.m., Uptown;
Sept. 30, 3:30 p.m., Plaza
At once maddeningly obtuse and haunting, this documentary unravels the threads trapping the past and the future in a small, struggling Bulgarian town called Belene. The town’s citizens, some of the most awkward interview subjects ever put to film, make for a charming and eccentric bunch. There’s the only remaining Cuban left in the town after a failed nuclear plant construction project, for example, and a Chopin loving piano tuner. They describe a town rife with secrets, broken dreams and, of course, the ever-persistent mosquito problem. Unfortunately, director Andrey Paounov treats these interviews like pieces of an unnecessary puzzle for the sake of the final reveal. Context usually lags two or three scenes behind, and considering the ambition and scope of The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories, it’s easy to get lost. Still, as the final scene of children running in and out of billowing clouds of mosquito repellent attest to the film’s power as a documentary.
Alan Cho
*****
MULBERRY STREET
(U.S.A., 2006)
Directed by Jim Mickle
Sept. 27, 11:30 p.m., Plaza
Expertly shot and beautifully written, Mulberry Street is sure to be one of the highlights of the Calgary International Film Festival’s Late Night series. Director Jim Mickle’s first feature-length film takes place in Manhattan, where rat bites turn people into large humanoid versions of New York’s most famous rodents, who take to feasting on those lucky enough not to be infected.
The premise isn’t the most original, but Mickle’s keen sense of timing achieves more than the plot would suggest is possible. The cinematography also adds a unique element to the film, employing unique camera angles and smart editing to build suspense. Add to that great performances by a ragtag group of professional and non-professional actors, and all of the elements of a great independent film are present.
When the rat-person outbreak goes into full force, things do get a little cheesy, but delightfully so. If this movie were played completely straight, it probably wouldn’t come off nearly as well. Mulberry Street is a fun horror film — legitimately suspenseful without resorting to pure gore for its scares.
Nathan Atnikov
*****
MURDER PARTY
(U.S.A., 2007)
Written and directed by
Jeremy Saulnier
Sept. 28, 11:15 p.m., Plaza;
Sept. 29, 1 p.m., Plaza
Not every psychotic murderer is a criminal genius. Most of them are disorganized idiots who let their victims escape while they bicker over pizza toppings, or who tangle up the extension cords of their chainsaws. That’s the darkly humorous premise behind Murder Party, and despite moments of obvious padding, the film largely succeeds in getting guilty chuckles. The clichéd setup — a mild-mannered guy accepts an invitation to a “Murder Party” and gets more than he bargained for — quickly transforms into something more offbeat and engaging; a kind of splattery combination of After Hours (1985) and The Ladykillers (1955). A fun midnight movie for horror fans in search of something goofy and a little different.
John Tebbutt
*****
POULTRYGEIST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD
(U.S.A., 2007)
Directed by Lloyd Kaufman
Sept. 22, 11:30 p.m., Plaza;
Sept. 23, 1 p.m., Plaza
Director Lloyd Kaufman returns to Tromaville for another bad-taste extravaganza, this time involving reanimated chicken zombies attacking a fast food joint. The guy who brought you The Toxic Avenger (1985) and Tromeo and Juliet (1996) hasn’t changed his formula much, other than adding a few musical numbers. Fans of Troma Studio’s output will know what to expect. There’s something disgusting going on all the time. Not every 10 minutes, not every 40 seconds — every single frame of Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead has an offensive stereotype, a geyser of bodily fluids, dismemberment, rectal trauma, masturbation mishaps or something similar. It’s all done on a miniscule budget and is clearly not intended to be taken seriously. One particularly gross shot, filmed inside a toilet bowl, is partially obscured by censorship bars because Kaufman’s wife Patricia insisted on it. Pat, I thank you.
John Tebbutt
*****
RIVER OF LIFE
(Canada, 2007)
Directed by Werner Walcher
Sept. 22, 1 p.m., Plaza
At 740km, the Yukon River Quest, the world’s longest annual canoe and kayak race, is a massive undertaking for anyone involved. For the eight rowers on Paddlers Abreast, the race has an added meaning — everyone on the team is a breast cancer survivor, and the Quest is as much an affirmation of their strength as anything else. River nicely showcases each of the women’s personalities, with interview segments revealing the details of their personal struggles with cancer and all the difficulties, both mental and physical, that go along with the disease. While the film lacks some of the urgency that would seem natural in a documentary about a marathon race —and those turned off by adjectives like “heartwarming” should keep their distance — River charms, and at 53 minutes, doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Peter Hemminger
*****
SAVIOR’S SQUARE
(Poland, 2006)
Directed by Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze
Sept. 21, 9:30 p.m., Globe;
Sept. 22, 3:15 p.m., Plaza
A multiple award-winner at the 31st Polish Film Festival, Savior’s Square is an intimate, gut-wrenching story of a family’s struggle with emotional and physical abuse. Bartek and Beata and their two young boys are cooped up in Bartek’s mother’s small apartment after the developer of their unfinished new home goes bankrupt.
Financially devastated, dark frustrations rise in Bartek and his mother. “Everything’s a test of my inner resources, my child,” mother-in-law Teresa explains to Beata. While it’s true they’re both profoundly haunted, Teresa and Bartek’s treatment of sweet, cornered Beata is despicable. The ugly behaviour scars their family members. The couple’s children look on helplessly. Their childhoods are squeezed dry as they carefully avoid upsetting the adults.
The film’s directors effectively, realistically and without melodrama deliver a simple message about personal accountability. The family’s measured redemption is hard-won, certainly imperfect and literally disfiguring, but it rings true.
Ian Doig
*****
STRONG COFFEE: THE STORY OF CAFÉ FEMENINO
(Canada, 2007)
Directed by Sharron Bates
Sept. 29, 1 p.m., Uptown
The recent fair trade coffee movement has, to some extent, redressed the fact that farmers growing the second-most-traded commodity in the world were not earning a living wage. However, increased earnings in the hands of male coffee growers weren’t making it back to their wives and children.
Strong Coffee tells the story of a groundbreaking solution to the problem. Four years ago, a group of women coffee growers from around Peru decided to band together and brand and sell their own coffee, keeping a portion of their profits in their own hands. In addition, the group mandates a small portion of retailers’ Café Femenino profits must go towards local or international women’s charities.
While the narration occasionally verges on the didactic, Strong Coffee documents a powerful, successful link built by these women, connecting the isolated mountainsides of Peru to your morning jolt and your community. It’s especially uplifting to see Canadian roasters involved, and hear about the positive effects of Café Femenino coffee on Canadian and Peruvian communities alike. Calgary coffee roasters, take note — this film will no doubt inspire coffee-drinking viewers to find ways to get involved.
Shereen Samuels
*****
WORDS FROM THE CITY
(Australia, 2007)
Directed by Natasha Gadd
and Rhys Graham
Sept. 24, 9:30 p.m., Uptown
Words from the City is a seemingly unlikely documentary chronicling hip hop culture in Australia. Directors Natasha Gadd and Rhys Graham interview several Australian hip hop artists from all over the continent to discuss, presumably, what it is that makes Aussie rap unique. What they find out is that the definition of hip hop is the same wherever you go.
Words provides some great exposure for very talented artists, especially Tzu and Koolism (apparently, Australia still has a ways to go in terms of coming up with band names), but the film struggles to explain its point. There is no narration to provide any type of mission statement, making it hard to decipher the message.
What’s interesting about Gadd and Graham’s film is that this appears to be the first generation of Australian rappers. All of them make reference to N.W.A. and Outkast, and all of them make startlingly adroit references to North American pop culture in their rhymes. Unfortunately, the filmmakers don’t delve into what it means for Australian hip hop to be so infused by another culture.
Nathan Atnikov
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