KINGSTON CANADIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEWS

BREAKFAST WITH SCOT (MONGREL MEDIA, 2007)***

By Rick Jackson

Sensitively directed by Laurie Lynd, Breakfast With Scot is a big surprise for a Canadian movie. Noah Bennett gives an impressive performance as Scot, who must deal with the loss of his mother while living with a gay couple, Eric (Tom Cavanaugh) and Sam. As you watch him adapt to his situation while waiting for Billy (Colin Cunningham), his mother's appointed guardian, you see him learn how to adjust to a crisis in his life. In the process, both Eric and Sam discover they, too, love him enough to empathize and share in the warmth and fellowship all three create together. Albeit predictable and slow moving, its ending is worth its weight in gold as a positive account of family life in the 21st century.

Cavanaugh plays Eric, a form Maple Leaf hockey star turned sports TV host, who, along with Sam, must look after Scot for two months. At first, their relationship is strained, but in the middle of the emotional chaos Eric finds himself in, he reaches out honestly in trying to find himself so he can understand Scot. Up until he meets him, he has avoided talking about his homosexuality and has made up excuses. By teaching his new friend about respect, Eric also learns he should practice what he preaches.

Based on the novel by Michael Downing, Sean Raycroft's screenplay has its touching moments and they make up for the flaws in direction.

Bennett brings to Scot, both the mentality of a child and the understanding of an adult. Eric and Sam fail to notice how he as grown up in the wake of his mother's tragedy, as does Billy. In his early scenes, Scot is obnoxious like most kids his age, but in a scene with one of his friends there is a tender moment when he tells us about his mother' s drug habit and how it was destroying her. He has learned to accept her death, even if he misses her a lot which is to be expected.

When Billy arrives to take Scot back with him and Nula (Jeananne Goossen0), his new bride-to-be, there is friction between the two of them. You know he has accepted Eric and Sam as his paternal influences because they share in something very special. The last few minutes bear this out.

The heartwarming finale brings a poignant touch, even if it is overly predictable. Yet it doesn't matter for this is a genuinely told story of resolving who you are and not trying to hide behind makeup, as is the case with Scot because of his mother's influence on him from an early age. It also means being in a place where he knows he can feel loved and be loved. For Eric and Sam it is a chance to accept in public their sexual orientation so they can live together with Scot with a new lease on their future as a nuclear family.

Breakfast With Scot doesn't disappoint one bit.

It is rated PG/Parental Guidance, with the warning: language may offend.


WALK ALL OVER ME (Mongrel Media, 2007)*

By Rick Jackson

Walk All Over Me is your familiar, cliched drama about loyalty, betrayal and dishonesty. Co-written (with Jason Long) and directed by Robert Cuffley, it focuses on Alberta (Leelee Sobieski), a young woman who has been running away from trouble all her life because of her own naivete and lack of street smarts. When she returns to her old babysitter named Celine (Tricia Helfer), now a dominatrix living the high life in a friend's expensive house, Alberta become so impressionable that she wants to be like her, so she can pay the bills. As it turns out, Celine is also in debt. However, this all becomes irrelevant when Alberta pretends to be Celine and gets in trouble with Paul (Jacob Tierney), a client, who, in turn, has cheated Rene (Lothaire Bluteau), a local mobster.

Throughout much of the film, it is a cat and mouse game with Rene and his two thug brothers intimidating Alberta, Paul and Celine, and it leads to some nasty business which involves sexually deviant behaviour that is not graphic enough to be offensive, nudity and violence. Despite their convincing performances in this modern Thelma and Louise (which, by the way, is far superior), both Sobieski and Helfer leave no lasting impression.

It is rated 14A, with the warnings: coarse language, sexual content and violence.


MUFFINS FOR GRANNY (FEATURES PRODUCTIONS, 2007)****

By Rick Jackson

This is one of the most shocking documentaries ever made about the mistreatment of Aboriginal children in residential schools between 1892 and 1996 when the last one closed.

Although not graphic in its telling, it is the stories by some of the survivors that illustrate in their own words the horrific time they experienced. Their mental, physical, and cultural abuse continues to remain with them today and, courtesy of writer, producer, director Nadia McLaren, you hear these ghosts of voices past. She describes them like the wind or, more appropriately in Aboriginal language, as 'the lungs of mother earth.'

Roy Thomas, who died in November 2004 at age 55, remembers the first image he saw after the nuns greeted him. It was Jesus on the cross and he thought to himself, "Is that what will happen to us?" He tells about growing up in the ways of nature and the stories of birds, animals and fish, which, as an artist, he has painted for posterity. The years he spent in the government school has left him with feelings of anger and bitterness, and when he left he began drinking
to forget. He was not the only one, for many others resorted to alcoholism for exactly the same reason.

For Garnett, another survivor, it was a dark chapter in not only his life but for his people. He describes the experience as "one night was a long time." His anger and pain was so unbearable to recall, he couldn't even tell his wife after they were married.

Ralph Johnson also talks about the abuse that led to his drinking, and for a long time he couldn't tell stories about his childhood because of the shame and guilt he felt.

For Alice, aka Little Deer, she describes her time there as literally being separated from her family. During her first year she had to sleep on the floor because there weren't enough beds. What was even worse is her instant recall of what happened to pregnant girls whose fetuses were aborted and buried. She goes on to say how you were forbidden to speak up against the nuns for fear of being punished by God. The nuns, or "white ladies" as she calls them, also punished you with the strap, and if you were had a sister or other relative, you weren't allowed to talk to each other. Her tears reveal a hurt so deep, she had to stop talking more than once.

Delaney Sharpe is also very emotional about her time spent there and thanks Nadia for giving her a chance to speak out because someone had to tell their story.

Some of the children stayed in the residential schools from six up to 10 years. Some were lucky to spend less. The federal government took all the First Nations' children and put them in the 130 schools across Canada. The nuns were so strict, you were not allowed to speak in your native language, only English. You were also called by an assigned number, not your name.

McLaren uses title cards such as humility, truth, respect, honour, courage, wisdom, and love to underscore the thoughts and feelings of her interviewees, some of whom were surprised to be survivors. Their candor and truth documented here has left an indelible mark on them for life, including the nightmares and anxiety attacks they will continue to suffer.

Recent acknowledgment in the 1990s by the federal government, survivors and the Church have helped them begin to heal from the sting of their memories, yet it remains a sad part of Canadian history McLaren has told in this powerful and honourable documentary.

February 16, 2008


AMAL (SEVILLE PICTURES, 2007)****

By Rick Jackson

One of the best films I've seen so far this year is Amal, an uplifting story about an impoverished autorickshaw driver who drives an old man one day, not knowing who he really is and how he really touched him with his generosity and kindness as a common everyday working man.

What happens after the old man dies in hospital and the events leading up to the end are a series of episodes about greed, lack of self-worth and respect, a mother's longing for her son to marry and settle down, and the title character's good heart in helping others because it makes him feel so good.

Based on a story by Shaun Mehta, the screenplay by Richie and Shaun Mehta focuses on Amal's daily trips and the people he meets. One of them is G.K. Jayaran (Naseeruddin Shah), whose cantankerous attitude about people in general changes after Amal treats with the milk of human kindness, which his father taught him to be. When the old man, who doesn't identify himself, starts to cough, Amal asks him if he's alright and then hands him a box of cough drops. When he says he'll pay ten less for the ride, Amal only accepts the same amount out of respect for him. Jayaran understands he is not like all the other drivers who overcharge their customers. His narration at the beginning tells you just how, despite being poor, Amal is the richest man he has ever known.

Rupinder Nagra (Bollywood Hollywood) plays Amal as the good-natured and trustworthy son of a working class family. He will do anything he can to help anyone. When a little girl steals a purse from Pooja Seth, a regular rider, while in his ricksaw, he chases after her, only to see her the victim of a hit-and-run accident. He ends up caring about ehr and even arranges to pay for her expensive operation which the doctor convince shim she must have. Just as there are not any guarantees in life, she dies because, he believes, it is God's will.

While you only visit with Amal at certain times within the story's plotline, you meet Jayaran's children who learn they must wait 27 days before they can hear their father's will. Unbeknownst to them (and us) is a letter addressed to Amal which must be handed to him first. While Suresh (Roshan Seth) tries to find him, you find out he isn't in the will because he was hoping to inherit some of Jayaran's fortune. In the meantime, he bargains with one of his sons for a percentage of his share without the clear understanding or knowledge of his gambling debt which he must pay back to the local loan shark. When Suresh reads the letter, he realizes the deal with him must be terminated. In a moment of rage, he is killed by the son out desperation for his own personal greed for the money.

What is so refreshing to watch is how the screenwriters weave a tender love story between Poojah and Amal which further enhances Jayaran's last thoughts about a poor man's possession of wealth through his respect for those around him. Amal represents what is ultimately good about the human race and Jayaran wants to help him in return on his deathbed.

Without divulging the ending, you will be moved by the endearing simplicity of it magnified two-fold by Nagra's blissful existence to remain the same man without even knowing it. You will also be surprised in the manner the director reveals something more about Amal you don't know until another little girl gives him change and later tells us what it is.

Amal leaves you satisfied by it sheer honesty and conviction in presenting a story that speaks volumes about the human condition in a world too busy to understand or care. Like the title character who sees the end of his livelihood as a ricksaw driver, there is hope for him as he plans his future with Poojah or, at least, this is the seed planted for you to secretly wish it would happen. The story ends as it should because it is God's will for us not to know His plans. It is all left up to us to see what rewards will come our way. For Amal, it is something more precious than anything money can buy.

It is rated 14A, with the warning: coarse language.


EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC (SEVILLE PICTURES, 2007)****

By Rick Jackson

An international cast brings this dramatic and international reunion of three survivors, two children and one adult, from the Drancey detention camp together thirty-five years after they last saw each other. Their stories rekindle the feelings of Melanie and Christopher, the two children, who are now adults, and Jakob, the young man (now in his senior years) who bartered for their lives so they could live. Without getting into too much detail, except for the tinted black and white flashbacks, you are left with a quiet and sensitively told story of each of their lives. Here, less is more.

Based on the novel by Matt Cohen, the screenplay by Jefferson Lewis focuses on the three of them as they share in both the shadows of their past and the new memories they are about to experience. After the initial moments of seeing each other alive and well, their reunion is marked by a series of emotions that stir up an avalanche of thoughts and feelings.

For Melanie, who has been addressed at saving everything she can about their childhood in the camp, it is the hardest for her to let go of the past and really move on despite settling down, getting married and rearing a son, now all grown up. Played by Susan Sarandon, she is the epitome of beauty, despite the emotional scars she bears all these years later. In one of her strongest roles, she brings together both the domesticity of motherhood and the emotional baggage of her historical past. Her strength as a character can be seen through her own personal gut reactions to each situation which are dead on.

The flashbacks to the camp with young Melanie and Christopher (Regan Jewitt and Alexandre Nachi) reveal a strong attachment between them, one so strong it helped them overcome what they were going through mentally. Now grown up, they still share the same feelings toward each other. The older Christopher (Gabriel Bryne) secretly wishes he could run away with Melanie, but the times are different now and he reluctantly accepts her new life and is agreeable to leave the next day so it would create any further emotional bouts or fights between them and Melanie's husband, David..

Jakob Bronski (Max Von Sydow in a strong supporting role) does not remember all the details of the camp because his memories are lost forever because of the drugs and electroshock treatments given to him by the Germans after he killed a prison guard. Sydow doesn't make him a saint, but more a human being who, as an older man, wants to appreciate what years he has left. Although there are two key scenes when he tries to remember, he can't. However, he is haunted by the experience and dreams he is still back there.

Byrne injects Christopher with a dichotomy of purpose. His surprise appearance is met with reluctant happiness and when she tells him she's not prepared to see him, you know she's right. The emotional setback during their reunion is tinged with both a sense of regret and elation. Christopher tries to reach out for her and, despite his understanding of the life she now leads, he desperately wants to have her. His jealousy forces him to leave before they each can reconcile with the past.

Christopher Plummer plays Melanie's husband, David. He is tired of her obsession with the past and wishes they could spend their retirement years together like any average married couple. However, he understands more than he is willing to admit.

In another excellent supporting role, Roy Dupuis, in one of his few English speaking roles, is Benjamin, their son, who has made them grandparents with Timmy (Dakota Goyo). He, too, has wrestled with his mother's past and wants to know what happened to make her act the way she has since he learned about her condition at a young age.

While Jakob is redeemed for his good deed and the sacrifice he took to spare Melanie and Christopher as children, Melanie still must reconcile with her past for she has been burdened by this experience for far too long. Even though she wishes she could, you have an understanding that there are some memories that can't be healed by time.

As for Christopher who has hidden his past with her, he returns to France where he continues his life as a British novelist. His memories remain locked between he and Melanie and you never learn the extent of them because of their personal nature. It is best to leave it unsaid and in the past where it belongs, like any good story.

Director Palo Barzman and editor Arthur Tarnowski have carefully woven together a powerful drama about a time which is not often told from the point of view of the children who survived and carried on with their lives after the Second World War.

It is rated PG/Parental Guidance, with the warning: mature theme.


THE GREEN CHAIN (CHRISTAL FILMS, 2007)**

Written and directed by Mark Leiren-Young, The Green Chain is an ineffective semi-documentary about the conflict between loggers and environmentalists in Canada. Interviews with seven people about their views on the central issue of cutting down trees are barely interesting because each one of them rambles on for far too long.

First up is Ben Holm (Scott MacNeil), the logger, who talks for 15 minutes about logging as his livelihood and the environmentalists who protest are using signs made out of paper, which, in turn, comes from the mills. He goes on to point out the government siding with them and the sad fact you have to get permission to where you can cut the trees, unlike years ago when you could do it anywhere.

Next is Abigail Edwards (Babs Chula) who is in jail for protesting against cutting down trees. She doesn't seem to mind being there. A former science teacher, she says trees were cut down near her home so a highway could be built and feels enough is enough. There are also examples about other protestors, such as kids lying down in front of bulldozers and others posing naked for a calendar.

Brett Hall (Tahmer Penikett) has been a firefighter since he was sixteen. He goes on a tirade about the causes of putting out fires which is completely off topic. His sermonette never says anthing you don't already know. Neither does it address the loggers or environmentalists.

The protest that has been in this local town, the name of which is not identified, is led by the star, Leila Cole (Tricia Helfer). She is busy going over her speech which she tries to be serious about, but all it does is bore you to death by her incessant inanities, whining and complaining about everything not connected with the central issue of the film. When she finally gets down to discussing why she is there, she does make the point about where the animals will go if the trees are cut down and suggests we buy up all the trees like Sting did in Brazil.

From her hotel room, the director switches to Dylan Hendrix (Brendan Fletcher) who has been living in a tree as part of his personal crusade. He has books and other comforts of home to keep him happy but he serves no useful purpose than to be condescending in his attitude about trees. It all goes far afield when he starts to mention the trees who fought back in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There isn't any rational point made, either.

August Schellenberg is cast as John Clements, the executive with an opinion about one tree in particular, the spruce, which, he says, is a sacred tree that shouldn't be cut down. He approaches the issue as if this was a travelogue.

The last person interviewed is waitress Jenne Holm (Jillian Fargey) who goes on her own personal discussion about the customers who patronized the restaurant where she works for that day, and, after almost ten minutes, she finally makes the point, like her husband did at the beginning, about logging as a livelihood and the families who have had fathers, brothers or other relatives as loggers for more than one generation.

The Green Chain never asserts itself with the main issue it tries to bring forth, except for the strong opinions which are never galvanizing as they should be. The lack of real impact on either side of the debate doesn't allow you to make up your own mind. In the end, you are left with a shallow and empty discussion with no real purpose, except to see these seven voice their frustration and helplessness in getting across their points of view.


February 23, 2008

Copyright 2008 Rick Jackson