VERSUS IVAN (VERSUS IVAN INCORPORATED, 2004)

By Rick Jackson

Versus Ivan which premiered at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival in March 2005 is an auspicious directorial debut for Queen's University graduate Chris Gamble.

Filmed over 19 days, the rest of the cast are also graduates from Queen's, while community members from Yellowknife where it was filmed filled in wherever possible.

Written, produced and directed by Gamble, it is a black comedy about routine, control and the acceptance of change as it affects one individual, Ivan Schulloppses, who has been trapped by his own dreams and routine. The mundane daily life he has led for the past eight years has suddenly gone awry for no reason. It all begins when the package of food he has been receiving from overseas has stopped coming. Life at and after work is slowly crumbling in small pieces which annoy him to no end. He ends up losing his job and, generally, feeling lost and frustrated in a world which used to make him feel satisfied and happy. Although he finds out who is stealing the packages by film's end, life is still not perfect but there is a glimmer of hope which only he can understand.

Liam Karry, a Queen's University Theatre graduate, makes his feature film debut after appearing in various stage plays and short art films. As Ivan he shows promise an up-and-coming actor whose sensitive performance you can empathize as he suffers from the daily doldrums which we all have gone through under far different circumstances. How he copes with the reality of discovery and accepts the answers to his quixotic way of life comprises much of the film's focus. He accomplishes this in one week.

Tennille Read shines in her feature debut as Miriya Huxley, the girl next door who wants to help but cannot summon up enough courage to go through with it. Instead of feeling sorry for him, she tries to understand his predicament and invites him over for supper to have a good home cooked meal. Her generosity and sympathy guide the plot through its own plodding way. There is also a hint of a budding romance in her last statement which Ivan has yet to grasp, but we do watching because it's written all over her face. When the story ends you can only speculate, but it is all part of the faint hope of Ivan's complete recovery from his inherent blackness.

The supporting cast features Ken Woodley as a psychotic mailman, Hannah Clarke as a demon child, Rick Poltaruk as Ivan's boss and head of the bocce ball team, and Dave Lovell as his colleague Niko at Web Smart Assets.

Locations in Yellowknife include the Black Knight, Javaroma, Parker Park and Co-Op which meant many long shooting days because the midnight sun allowed 16 hours of daylight.

Despite some rough spots in editing and some annoying pieces of music in some scenes, Versus Ivan is a noteworthy production.

Footnote: The version that played at The Screening Room the week of October 21, 2005 was seven minutes shorter from the original 97 minutes when it was premiered at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival.

Copyright 2005 Rick Jackson

BEING CARIBOU (NATIONAL FILM BOARD, 2004)

By Rick Jackson

This documentary by writer/directors Leanne Allison and Diana Wilson captures the caribou in its most positive light. From the spring migration of the porcupine herd to the Arctic from Alaska and the Yukon, it provides a breathtaking and unforgettable journey which environmentalist Allison and wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer have recorded in a diary.

Allison is also the cinematographer and she gives you many images of the caribou, especially the shots against the night sky where they appear to be walking in a long line in the snow.

As their journey begins, they are not sure how many they will see. Through binoculars and aerial footage we get to see them running, climbing up a mountain and cresting up and down hills. When they finally reach a herd, they feel they are part of something bigger. Some of the caribou run ahead to graze and eat.

The sad part to the entire story is the United States government's oil development in an area not far away which threatens the survival of the caribou. After bringing it up, Allison and Wilson fail to discuss it any further.

The journey which they come to realize as a historical event because they are lucky in watching them move around, Allison and Heuer wonder howlong they will continue because they are running out of supplies by Day 16.

A plane eventually drops off more supplies but they experience another hurdle--bears who prevent them from continuing and they are forced to stay in their tent.

At this point in this documentary, one wishes there had been more dialogue or sub-titles to articulate the journey better for they know better than us the advantages and disadvantages they faced. For us watching we can only depend on their accuracy in presenting to us their experience.

What is most interesting is the reason for the caribou's flight to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where, after travelling for weeks the pregnant cows arrive at the calving grounds. The narrow strip of coastal plain provides a type of grass to help them produce high quality milk. It also gives them freedom from predators for they prove the old adage of safety in numbers.

Through binoculars we get to see the birth of a calf still shiny and wet, the umbilical cord still attached. Allison and Heuer do not get any closer for this is sacred ground.

Despite them telling us they shouldn't be there, their journey allows us to see the life of a soon-to-be extinct animal threatened by the U.S. government.

With the end of the calving season in June, there is the post calving aggregation a month later. It is here the filmmakers lose track of the caribou and try to catch up.

The story quickly loses its continuity when it is broken up by an implausible subplot where the two find themselves dreaming of the animals. It ruins the narrative thread by taking us away from knowing what will happen to the caribou.
You'd think there would be other footage they could have used here.When they reach the herd five days later, silly dialogue detracts from "the big gathering."

Before the conclusion, their main purpose for following the caribou is finally reiterated in a segment that seems added in as an afterthought. This is the herd's delicate habit which is could be devastated if the plans by the oil company go ahead.

Despite its flaws, watching Allison and Heuer follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot across 1,500 kilometres of rugged tundra is one of the richly detailed highlights. Had they spent more time in making it more informative, it might have been more cohesive and, as a result, a superior documentary. In its present form, it still provides us with a closeup look at the caribou which is, at least, the main reason for seeing Being Caribou.

March 5, 2005

Copyright 2005 Rick Jackson

SAINT RALPH (ODEON FILMS, 2004)

By Rick Jackson

Written and directed by Michael McGowan, Saint Ralph does not live up to its title. Right from the beginning, it is clearly a silly, amoral film starring Adam Butcher as Ralph Walker, who has no respect for anyone but his mother. His foul mouth and crude behaviour are sacriligious when you consider he is going to the Roman Catholic School For Boys where such language and actions are frowned upon.

McGowan wastes no time in ridiculing the entire school system by turning Walker into not just a troublemaker, but a hero. This poorly conceived story lacks the seriousness of its subject. You are left laughing at the wrong time. I fail to see how he could possibly be funny in a story that should have been about his adolescent awakening into manhood where he might curb his wild ways and finally grow up. To even have Ralph be persuaded a miracle might save his dying mother by trying to win the Boston Marathon is absolutely ludricous.

Despite weaknessnes in the story, there are good performances by Gordon Pinsent as Father Fitzpatrick, who tries to teach Ralph to mend his ways. Pinsent gives the film whatever seriousness it lacks and his presence is, at least, mindful that there is some dignity and respect at the school. Fitzpatrick's stern hand keeps everyone in line.

Cast as Father Hibbert, a former Marathon runner who joined the priesthood at the beginning of World War II,is Campbell Scott. His solid performance as Ralph's teacher and trainer for the marathon adds whatever credibility there is left.

In other roles, Shauna MacDonald plays Ralph's mother, Emma; Michael Kaner is Chester, Ralph's best friend at school; Tamara Hope is Claire Collins, the girl Ralph likes to think as his girlfriend, and Jennifer Tilly is Nurse Alice.

The songs on the soundtrack are trite and awful, as is the appearance of a mystery man, who may or may not be God, dressed as Santa Claus. He makes no real sense except to make the story veer into the direction of a fantasy, which this film is definitely not.

Set during the period between September 1953 and May 1954, Saint Ralph fails to deliver as a Breaking Away (1979) for the 21st century. It's also one of the worst films of the year. Better to stay home and watch a rerun of Touched By The Angel on television.

It is rated PG, with the warnings: coarse language and not recommended for young children.

After premiering at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, it opened for a regular run on May 28, 2005.

March 5, 2005

Copyright 2005 Rick Jackson

WEIRD SEX AND SNOWSHOES (MPIX, 2005)

By Rick Jackson

Based on Vancouver film critic Katherine Monk's book of the same name, Weird Sex and Snowshoes is an interesting look back at the nature and character of Canadian Cinema. Throughout this 60-minute documentary, there is a generous supply of clips from our classic films, with comments from some of the directors who made them.

You will recognize Oscar winners The Barbarian Invasions, the documentary short Neighbours (1952) and such cult favourites as Goin' Down The Road (1970) and Atanara juat - The Fast Runner (2002). For moviegoers who haven't seen our first Canadian feature, there are clips from Back To God's Country (1919).

Since this is so short, it is difficult to cover this bird's eye view of our films. In trying to come up with an answer to "What is a Canadian film?," it gets lost in the lack of knowledge of them. There is no real explanation, save the film clips and interviews.

By showing them we do get a better idea of the kinds of Canadian movies we have made over the last 100 years. The director's individual points of view are hardly anything new, whether it be the two identities, English and French, and the films that are made in both languages.

What gets lost is the entire French film industry which, like their music, is full-fledged. The overall perspective we have of Canadian Cinema, at least the international view, stems from the French films such as Mon Oncle Antoine (1971) and the more recent, Barbarian Invasions, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Atom Egoyan describes Ararat, his Genie Award winning film, as a story about language, religion and history, and how open we should be to hearing stories about our past and accepting someone else's experience as part of our own. Another one of his films, The Sweet Hereafter (1997) touched on personal survival and the preservation of identity.

There are also the films about the harsh life of our pioneers and native Aboriginals in the aforementioned The Fast Runner, The Snow Walker and Black Robe.

Zacharias Kunuk, the director of The Fast Runner, describes his film as the most authentic about Canada's North because it is not fake like the fictional reality captured by Hollywood, whether it be on the big or small screen.

Anne Wheeler's early filsm are historical in nature such as Bye Bye Blues, another Genie Award winner, which looked at life on the Prairies.

As the film moves from one director to another, mention is made of the National Film
Board founded by John Grierson in 1939 which captured the essence of our country in vignettes, including the Hinterland Who's Who series on the woodchuk and other animals who live in Canada.

The director of The Red Violin talks about the instrument as a main character since it deals with the birth of the instrument and the death of an unborn child, the child prodigy with all of the problems of growing up, and the flamboyant sexuality and conflicts of romance with musicians, where the woman in the film gets jealous of the violin and shoots it.

There are also those films which have a narrative thread built from pieces and scenes such as The Thirty-Two Films of Glenn Gould, which the director says showed the problems inherent in making a biographical film. Colm Feore gives an outstanding performance as Gould in a film about the nature of celebrity and the title character's own inner torment of it.

Director Robert LePage describes his films as items examined under a microscope, the camera focussing on a particular thing. He doesn't go into too much more detail.

Patricia Rozema of I Heard The Mermaids Singing fame says her films are about inner landscapes, what they imagine and how it influences our actions and behaviour. She also noticed an appreciation of the absurd or surreal in our films in general.

This is most evident in Guy Maddin's universe where life uninhibited exists in our dreams which he believes is a true reflection of what you actually feel. A case in point is the offbeat and wonderful Saddest Music In The World.

Denis Villeneuve describes Maelstrom as having been derived from the inspiration of daily events that can be perceived as part of our subconscious which, in turn, becomes a whole new reality.

In the case of such films as Kissed, in which the heroine has sex with a corpse, it is this sense of the bizzare that some directors like Don McKellar suggest our unique view of sexual discomfort and anxiety that Hollywood has avoided. He says ours is healthier, and our perception of the controversial is to make a point of getting over our fears. A point well taken. What is missing in Monk's documentary are the scenes to backup McKellar's claim.

Along with sex are the boundaries of love, such as Lea Pool's Straight For The Heart which examines the complex nature of sex in relationships whether they be with heterosexuals, homosexuals or lesbians. It's the desire for sex which she wanted to ascertain in her own mind.

Chaos And Desire is another film which director Manon Brian describes as unpredictable and uncontrollable. The sex scenes on the beach parallel what he wanted to say about the movement of the act itself and of the earth in a scene which featured the rumbling of an earthquake.

Many filmmakers find it difficult to define the character of Canadian film. It is addressed more as an in-joke but clearly by looking at our films individually will you only be able to get the proper perspective.

In her focus on Canadian film, Monk lets the film clips and interviews speak for themselves. It is more like this is her own home movie with her personal observances, with interviews added in, than a film of any historical value. However, the interviews will serve as a starting point for the neophyte or veteran Canadian movie fan as an introduction to our cinema.

To look further, you must still do your own research and see as many Canadian films you can, if you are to come to any accurate assesment of any kind or want to discuss them at any length.

March 5, 2005

Copyright 2005 Rick Jackson

PINK LUDOOS (2005)

By Rick Jackson

Pink Ludoos is a smart coming of age comedy in which a contemporary young woman wants to live her life without being tied down by the traditions of her Sikh family.

Jay Kazim is simply wonderful to watch as Gugan Dhaliwal. Her performance is down-to-earth and funny as she searches within herself enough courage to cry out and be heard among her mother's platitudes and superstitions.

Early in the film, Gugan learns she is pregnant with three girls out of wedlock. Tradition says that boys are the choice gender. When a baby is born, it is celebrated by sweets called "pink ludoos."

Written by Belle Mott, the focus of the story is on this important Sikh tradition and how Gugan seeks to change it. When she meets Raymond (Chenur Hendel) she doesn't realize who he really is.

Shaheen Khan, who played the mother in Bend It Like Bendham, plays Mrs. Dhaliwal. She wants Gugan, her eldest daughter, to follow tradition and watch out for certain things such as the upcoming eclipse. Gugan also doesn't like the spices she throws around the air because she doesn't like them.

The rest of the supporting cast features Jolly Bader as Mr. Dhaliwal, who is torn by past mistakes and has become a lazy drunkard, and Agam Darshi is Pria, Gugan's younger brother.

Under Guarav Seth's capable direction, Pink Ludoos is a delightful surprise.

March 5, 2005

Copyright 2005 Rick Jackson

THREE NEEDLES (SEVILLE PICTURES, 2005)

By Rick Jackson

In this episodic drama about AIDS, writer/director Thom Fitzgerald brings a sense of urgency to do something in addressing the global epidemic which has affected the Third World. Underneath the separate stories, it is the sheer humanity and concern to actually work at this resolve that underscores the need for us to react positively.

Set in China, Canada and Africa, we are introduced to a young novice and aspiring actor in Canada who is given needles, and a man who returns home to be circumcised for he believes it will mean his growth to manhood.

The most impressive of the three is the one in Africa. Chloe Sevigny plays Clara, a nun who wants to help the natives. You learn for anyone who wants to give blood, they have to be at least 12 years old and up and healthy. Each blood donor makes $500.00 and there is a continuuing need for blood products.

Safe sex is not practiced here and superstitions among the Africans make it impossible to do all that is needed. Asisting Clara are nuns Mary (Sandra Oh) and Hilde (Olympia Dukakis). They all help the young white doctors in their struggle against the AIDs epidemic.

One of the sub-plots involves the nuns with Mr. Hallyday, the plantation owner who manipulates the situation since he has the money and power to make a difference. Clara offers herself as a sex slave for him in exchange for the supplies the hospital needs.

In China, you meet Jin Ping (Lucy Liu), who travels from one rural village to another seeking anyone who can give blood. When she meets a rich farmer named Tong Sam (Tanabade Cholepikaltong), he uses his influence to try and find a solution to the AIDS there after his wife and child fall ill as a result of unsanitary conditions while giving blood.

Back in Canada, Shawn Ashmore plays Denny who supports his parents by pursuing a porno acting career. Stockard Channing plays her mother Olive and she doesn't know about her son's chosen profession. The gravity of his situation becomes apparent when he hides his negative test results for AIDS from everyone.

The plot threads move back and forth among the three stories which tell us how wide the AIDS pandemic can quickly develop. Although not all the characters are fleshed out like they should, it is important to remember the overall theme and the efforts to deal with it. Each example in the three countries delineates the problems inherent in finding a cure, and it is not easy to find one due to the increasing financial and political problems of this health crisis.

Tom Harting's stunning cinematography, especially in Africa, shows the irony of such a beautiful country faced with the inability to fight due to the ignorance of the population and its far reaching problem which is overwhelming.

The performances by Sevigny, Oh, and Dukakis show the difficulties in a bad situation getting worse with Sevigny's role symbolic of the acts of desperation in convincing those who are in position to do more to help.

Roberts plays Mr. Hallyday with the same cunning and resourcefulness as any villain and it's Fitzgerald's fault in letting him turn a nun against her own strict morals.
Not knowing the basis for his thinking for this, it's hard to know if it was based on fact or not.

Despite its plodding pace, Three Needles manages to succeed in bringing across the gravity of the world's AIDs epidemic. Dukakis' narration helps keep it in focus.

March 11, 2006

Copyright 2006 Rick Jackson

LUCID (MONGREL MEDIA, 2005)

By Rick Jackson

Co-written, produced and directed by Winnipegger Sean Garrity, Lucid is an incisive and thought provoking drama about reality vs. delusion.

On the surface, Garrity and his screenwriting partner, Jonas Chernick, who also plays psychologist Joel Rothman, focus their story on him and his average caseload which includes three patients who figure prominently: Sophie (Lindy Booth), a drug addict with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder; Chandra (Michelle Nolden), a delusional compulsive-obsessive whose sister has been left in a coma after an accident; and Victor Koblinsky (Callum Keith Rennie), a paranoid, angry man who has a history of domestic violence and is also delusional.

As you watch Rothman work with them, something strange is afoot but we are never really clear exactly what it is, including Rothman's own problem with sleep deprivation. Instead of explaining the root of it, we are thrown into his upheaval existence which only he is to blame after he is caught sleeping with another woman when his wife pays him a surprise visit. When his patients begin to show a series of hallucinations, they are mixed with tragicomic and neurotic results.

Garrity's effective direction keeps you on the edge of your seat with the odd touch of humour to keep you entertained. Although there are some loose ends which leave you wondering what happened or where or why, it is the director's own sense of creating something different from mainstream Hollywood.

Despite a Canadian cast not as polished as their American counterparts and Chernick's penchant to overact in some scenes, Lucid manages to become a unique Canadian moviegoing experience. You wonder if, like the characters in his movie, are either asleep or awake watching it. A satisfying conclusion makes it all worth the price of admission.

It is rated 14A, with the warnings: coarse language, disturbing content and mature theme. After premiering at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, it opened for a regular run at The Screening Room on April 7.

March 11, 2006

Copyright 2006 Rick Jackson

C.R.A.Z.Y. (TVA FILMS, 2005)

By Rick Jackson

Family life is celebrated in C.R.A.Z.Y., a powerful and intelligently told film co-written and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee. Framed at the beginning and end by the birth and eath of a family member in the Beaulieu family, it's what happens in between that serves as a universal slice of life. It is told through the eyes of son Zach, who is born on Christmas Day 1960.

In their screenplay, Vallee and Francois Boulay focus on Zach's own individuality as a person who felt different from his three older brothers and one younger brother. As the narrator, he reveals how strong the family ties are and the emotions and feelings of how he managed to survive as the gay member, and his father who accepted him back in the family fold after ten years.

Early in the film, Zach says, "I had just turned seven and unwittingly I had declared war on my father." While growing up he is called a fairy and a faggot but it's his determination to live in a world of diversity, including a world trip to visit Jerusalem, that he comes to terms with his religious beliefs. Raised a staunch Roman Catholic, he becomes an athiest but leaves the possibility open for change.

His brothers Raymond, Antoine, Christian, and Yvan all have their own problems. As adults, all of them but Raymond, the oldest, is able to cope with life until he becomes a drug addict.

How Vallee shapes the mult-layers of family life underscores the problems faced by these five brothers. For anyone who grew up in a large family, you will be able to identify with it.

One of the most important characters is Gervais, the father, well played by Michael Cote. His strong performance holds the film together as the strict disciplinarian because he feels his children must learn to grow up responsibly. For this family it becomes a testing ground for the unwelcome changes in attitude, including disrespect for your elders.

Religious symbolism guides the story's main plot thread since the church plays an important role in the development of French-Canadian life. Quite effective is how Vallee shows a teenaged Zach at the midnight mass rising above the congregation singing "Sympathy For The Devil" by The Rolling Stones.

A box-office hit in Quebec in 2005, C.R.A.Z.Y. closed the Kingston Canadian Film Festival on its last night with a free screening.

March 11, 2006

Copyright 2006 Rick Jackson

SIX FIGURES

By Rick Jackson

Written and directed by David Christenson, Six Figures is one of the most excruciating dull films I have ever sat through. The entire cast all talk in such monotone voices there isn't one redeeming character.

Christenson's screenplay is based on the novel by Fred Leebron which focuses on a man in his mid-thirties and his mid-life crisis. Not having the book, I cannot tell how faithful he is to it.

J. R. Bourne plays Warner, who works at a corporation where he is a dealing with an important client. It's an important portfolio and unbeknownst to him his success or failure with the company will decide if he will be kept on or dismissed. During this whole time, he and his wife Claire (Caroline Cave) have bought a house. You also learn that she has been given a raise at her job at the local gallery where she is a valuable employee. Meanwhile, Warner is put on probation when his deal doesn't come through. Just before that happens, his supervisor advises him this is not the right time to buy a new home.

When Claire is later beaten up in what may be a robbery attempt, since this is not made clear, the entire film changes direction by becoming a case of wife abuse due to Warner's past history. It all ends up being a long winded daytime drama with the authorities seemingly taking control of a situation still under investigation.

Poorly edited by Emma Barry who lets you assume the worst in deciding Warner's fate, the entire film is mired in a series of predictable events and emotions which are completely cliched. You've also seen it all before.

The rest of the cast features Deborah Grover as Claire's mother, Louise; Brooklynn Proulx as Sophie, Warner and Claire's oldest child; Andrew Krivanek as Dr. Lyon, and Marty Antonini as Detective Norton.

Christenson's latest effort is timeworn and hardly exciting. You don't need to be reminded of your financial problems, especially if you have recently gone through something like this. For those who haven't, it is an example of the worst acting in a Canadian film so far this year.

It is rated 14A, with the warnings: coarse language and mature theme.

March 11, 2006

Copyright 2006 Rick Jackson

METAL: A HEADBANGER'S JOURNEY (SEVILLE PICTURES, 2005)

By Rick Jackson

Written and directed by Sam Dunn, Scott McFayden and Jessica Joy Wise, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is an illuminating and informative documentary about metal music.

It not only covers a history of this musical genre but discusses its relevance and popularity from its earliest beginnings to the present. Whether or not you're a fan of heavy metal, it has a loyal following. Fans of this genre are, perhaps, more passionate than other kinds of music, but this point can be argued and debated for long hours.

Interviewing key figures such as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne and many others, it is presented in several sections beginning with the roots of heavy metal with Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Led Zeppelin,Deep Purple, Geddy Lee (Rush), and John Kay.

Black Sabbath is singled out as the first heavy metal band by Iommi who explains their "tri-tone sound," and metal music's musical roots going back to classical composers such as Bach and Wagner whose orchestrations have provided the dark, heavy background that has been amplified. You may also be surprised to learn of their musical history in the blues or what Iommi calls "oppressed music." I didn't know Black Sabbath was a blues band in its conception.

The musicians who comprise heavy metal bands come from mostly poor sections of towns and cities. Individually, each seems themselves as being angry young musicians because they are longing to be heard and understood.

The lyrics they each sing about defines the individual musician on a personal level where it can conceivably be inspired by simply playing licks on your guitar.

In the section, Environmentalist, it mentions an "alternative universe" which Iommi says is part of the outsider or loner who is trying to be heard.

The elements of the heavy metal genre begin more with the way they dress. The black leather and silver threads make it possible for the musician to feel his way where evil and freedom co-exist on a larger plane kept alive by a dedicated core of fans.

Tattoos are worn as part of their appearance for both the musicians and hard core fanatics see this as a common denominator that unites them in a brotherhood where they feel they can communicate and, thereby, understand each other and the world they live in.

The sub-genres of heavy metal, such as power and glam, are mentioned and there is an interview with Metal Mayhem.

What many non-fans of heavy metal may find interesting is the section discussing the controversy that exists, especially censorship.

The genre's connection to religion comes up when Twisted Sister's lyrics come up since they can be best understood by looking at them in a didactic way.

What becomes apparent quickly while watching this documentary are the themes of the genre: hedonism, death and sexuality. Once male dominated and aggressive, its impact can also be discerned among the bevy of female heavy metal bands like Doro and Kittie.

Returning to its relationship to religion, especially satanism, writer Gavin Baddely says the sound of Black Sabbath is related to symbols, i.e. the pentagon, which helps define a certain band with a certain sound.

Slayer is mentioned as a progenitor of thrash metal which, in turn, is a reflection of society.

Yet with the all its darkness and impending religious motifs, Venom, Slayer and others related to their brand of heavy metal are surprisingly labelled as "cool."

Before ending their journey, the filmmakers look at Norway where Satanic heavy metal is a big cultural export and the Norwegian black market.

Rev. Wolf Rasmussen talks about certain incidents where anyone defying heavy metal openly in public has been punished by the aggressive and sick behaviour of certain fans who feel they need to destroy public property to make their point.

The establishment feels this destruction breaks down Christianity while fueling hard rock music. Their fans are expressing themselves as part of an elitist religion, although its unclear if the fans actually do.

The point is made that heavy metal fans comprise "a culture of outsiders." Their obsession with mortality and death unite them since they are singing about their position in society and how they each grasp a certain understanding whether or not you agree with it.

They are the voices of a genre whose collective thoughts are linked by the knowledge they can help themselves and others through the different amalgam of sounds, gyrations and lyrics.

By the time the end credits roll, it is quite evident this has all become an objective experience and all of it brings into focus a genre of music that you may well increase your understanding of it. However, it doesn't change this film critic's opinion about the genre as nothing but noise for the most part. At the same time, one must admit that it fills a void for those who need it. Besides, I do like some of the songs by Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin among others. After seeing Heavy Metal: A Headbanger's Journey it will be entirely up to you how you perceive and understand it.

March 11, 2006

Copyright 2006 Rick Jackson