SAINTS-MARTYRS-DES-DAMNES (CHRISTAL FILMS, 2005)

By Rick Jackson

In his directorial debut, writer/director Robin Aubert celebrates the language of film with Saints-Martyrs-Des-Damnes with its penchant for being a drama, a thriller and a mystery. Its meandering plot threads are reminiscent of the TV series, Twin Peaks from a few years back. Yet its superior storytelling leaves you more absorbed as you try to figure out what is really going on here.

Francois Chenier plays Flavian Juste who is assigned by his boss to cover a story in a town where some mysterious things have been going on for some time. Unbekownst to us, we do not learn the real reason for him going there until the very end.

This only contributes to making it all one of the most intriguing stories ever put on celluloid. The elements of a ghost bride that crosses the road in front of Flavian's car is reminiscent of Tim Burton and, like this apparition, if it is one, slowly arouses your curiosity more and more until you become enthralled by the other elements of horror much later on.

You meet the Malvinas, played by Monique Mercure and Monique Miller. They, too, are enough to make you want to stay in your seat.

At no time is there not anything happening after the pre-credit opening sequence where you are introduced to the main characters.

Once Flavian arrives in town with Armand, certain events begin to build up the drama unfolding, including a clever mystery. It begins with the disappearance of Armand who we learn, after what seems a long time, has been captured by a mysterious figure in white.

With the inclusion of other characters such as Melanie Blackburn, Mede (Mayday), and the mayor of the town, Flavian is persuaded to think that Armand has left town and to forget about him. However, he doesn't believe that he has left and starts to question the townsfolk who are mostly uncooperative.

It is almost a reminder of the 1956 classic film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers in which the townsfolk suddenly become something more out of the ordinary. Unlike it, Aubert's latest changes into a horror-thriller like another classic, The Body Snatcher (1945) where ghoulish goings-on take over.

Michael Arcand's clever editing keeps you on the edge of your seat as you sort things out. You don't know where the story is going to end up next as each twist and turn keeps you guessing.

Cinematographer Steve Asselin underscores the bleakness of the film's title by creating an eerie atmosphere most American filmmakers who like to make strange movies could learn from. His sense of foreboding from the very beginning gets captured right away because you know something is going to happen. Yet, you are never really sure.

Like Aubert, whose direction gives little away, Saints-Martyrs-Des-Damnes becomes an exercise in real terror. The last ten minutes ties up the plot threads nicely. It may shock you if you are not ready, or if you haven't been paying close attention. It is all low key and exciting as it builds up to the unforgettable climax. This is a film with a lot more to appreciate and experience.

March 4, 2006

Copyright 2006 Rick Jackson

THE END OF SILENCE

By Rick Jackson

The End of Silence, which played last night at The Screening Room as part of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, is a compelling love story. Written and directed by Anita Doren, it opens and closes with silence. The absence of dialogue speaks volumes and it allows us to make up our minds exactly where the story is going. Her ideas celebrate a mode of expression that is so abstract, the impact rejoices in subtlety over substance.

The two main characters are Darya, a Russian ballerina and Eddie, who was married but is now single. For Darya, coming to Toronto means freedom and access to everything, a testament to the capitalistic society she has entered. When she finds love which is, at first, obscured by flirting, it is her feelings underneath her shy exterior that brings out a sense of belonging to something more than just working as a ballerina. We learn that she doesn't find it interesting anymore, leaves her ballet company and proceeds to Pearson International Airport to go home. As she waits there, she reconsiders and stays in Toronto.

Despite not being able to understand English very well, she ends up living for five nights at a local motel. Her meeting with Eddie, who is sitting across the floor in a restaurant where he is reading a detective novel, is fortuitous but not altogether far-fetched. After all, this is a romance and it doesn't take long before the two of them begin to share something special. Their chemistry makes the entire film work from the time their eyes first meet. You want them to get together and we are not disappointed.

Darya's freedom to do what she wants becomes an adventure. She samples Canadian pizza, ice cream and, along the way, finds herself feeling something toward Eddie. We just don't know for sure and Doron's screenplay nicely lets them work things out as if they are acting impromptu instead of memorizing their lines.

When Darya throws away her slippers, she realizes she shouldn't be abandoning her career totally, and later goes back to retrieve them. Staying at Eddie's, she is able to understand how society over here works. She realizes she can't just give up everything just because she is tired of it, and comes to believe in the world of ballet once again because it's in her blood. It has become her life force and we are thrilled to see her back. There is a wonderful fantasy sequence where she dances on a polished floor all dressed up as a professional dancer she really aspires to be secretly in real-life.

Ekaterina Chtchelkanova is perfect as the innocent Darya, whose vulnerability and charm works on you from the moment you first see her, while John Tokatlidas gives a solid performance as a man who sees something in Darya and wants to see it develop. Having been through one marriage, he is careful not to go too fast.

In an excellent supporting role, singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer reluctantly accepts Darya into her sphere of things as the other woman, although she is no longer attached to Eddie, her ex. She even tries to help her get a job.

As for the title of the film, it suggests more than one thing: the world of Russian dance which has left her feel alone and helpless and where her own opinions have been stifled by communism, and Darya's mother whose silence on the other end of the phone means her family does not support her decision to stay in Canada.

As a symbol of communication, it means being able to have the freedom to question without any fear of any kind and speak out when you want to. It is Darya's relationship with Eddie that gives her the courage to get over this control over her and able to feel like a human being again. Her cry of despair over her mother in the bathroom sequence hurts because she hoped her mother would support her. The end of silence comes at a price, but because there is little dialogue here, one suspects there is still hope for reconciliation.

Watching Eddie and Darya together, it is not completely clear if it is going to work out, but it does give us an opportunity to visit them. Darya's dream of lifelong happiness is not shattered, while Eddie just exists as he always has. There is no pat ending just hope for the future, and this gives the film a resounding roar of approval as not just another Hollywood production where you want a happy ending. If you think about both characters, they are happy. We don't need to be reminded because their actions speak louder than any dialogue could.

Well paced, Doron's latest effort confirms there are still good movies about romance being made. The End of Silence is as triumphant as it is understanding and reflective. It is also the best film at the 2006 Kingston Canadian Film Festival, and one of the best of the year. Don't miss it.

March 11, 2006

Copyright 2006 Rick Jackson

Welcome to my film reviews for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival

I have been viewing films for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival in Kingston, Ontario, Canada for the past several years. I will create a special entry for each of the films I review.

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