One final burst of short reviews from this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival:
Recessionize For Fun And Profit! (2010 – Jamie Kastner) – The secondary title of Kastner’s film states “15 Simple Steps!” and refers to the 15 sections into which his 60 minute Michael Moore-esque jaunt of a doc is broken. And “broken” is a pretty apt description. It’s supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek look at the various ways people retool their businesses during tough times to continue to make money (from German hookers offering “green” discounts to classes teaching young children the joys of capitalism), but it comes across as condescending, smug and quite lacking in anything to say. At least it’s not dull, though, since it does feature some occasionally interesting people and ideas (some good and some so very not good) and switches gears and stories every 3 to 4 minutes. Unfortunately, Kastner inserts himself into the movie and though he tries, he doesn’t even have Moore’s sense of humour (which admittedly isn’t exactly finely tuned). I’ve tired of Moore by this point and find him just as bad as the far Right fear-mongers he targets, but at least I get his points (whether I agree or not). Kastner just comes across as thinking he is better than essentially everyone else in the film without showing any just cause.
Bury The Hatchet (2011 – Aaron Walker) – I’ve been to New Orleans twice (though not since Katrina) and love their approach towards ensuring their mix of cultures is less of a bland “melting pot” and more a tasty gumbo. One such example is the Indian Big Chief during Mardi Gras – a tribute to the Native Americans who helped runaway slaves. Over several years, Walker’s film follows several tribe leaders through their annual preparations for the big day (mostly via the creation and donning of their wondrous costumes of brilliant coloured feathers and sparkles), their tussles with local police, other leaders and tribes and, of course, Katrina. Even with an Interstate running right over their old parade route, the chiefs maintain their traditions and ensure they get passed down through to the next generation. As the chiefs strut their stuff in these huge costumes, you can’t help but be reminded of a peacock proudly displaying its tail. They may seem boastful as they talk of their costume designing, sewing, singing and songwriting skills, but the pride comes from a deep respect of their heritage. If you’ve ever wondered what a flagboy is, they will be glad to tell you and provide even further education on their living breathing culture. And the music is fantastic.
Gnarr (2010 – Gaukur Ulfarsson) – What happens when a comedian starts up his own political party and enters them into an election? In North America, it typically garners some good headlines, a fistful of jokes and a few well-targeted potshots at current policies and leaders. But in Iceland, well, it ends up being a different story…As Jon Gnarr and his “Best Party” (friends and all manner of artists – including a former member of The Sugarcubes) mount their campaign in the mayoral race in Reykjavik they actually start making inroads and begin to gather support. They never waiver from their stated goals (including making sure the zoo gets a polar bear) and it seems to be an effective strategy against the overly serious “professional” politicians. As much fun as some of the film ends up being, it never really explores why the polls start to favour The Best Party nor does it look at the downside of running this kind of race. It’s a bit of a frustrating film in that you are continually waiting for it to start, to get at the heart of something…anything. Entertaining to a point – or rather, entertaining without a point.
The Castle (2011 – Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti) – A completely observational film that looks behind the scenes at Milan’s International Airport, “The Castle” may occasionally be slow moving, but it’s rarely boring. Partially that’s due to some lovely cinematography and interesting choices of shots and framing and partially it’s because you get to be a fly on the wall as numerous interesting items are examined before being let into the country. Of most interest, though, are the human beings trying to get into the country. The drug smugglers, the refugees and the simple tourists all need to pass through what seems to be a phalanx of experienced customs agents and their probing questions. It’s apparent that sometimes people get stuck in the airport as well – as evidenced by the one old lady that appears to cook and clean in the public washroom. Being strictly observational, the film doens’t have any narration to lead you from one situation to another or explain what eventually happens to several of these people. It’s not really required though – the film easily makes its own statements about why many people take chances to get to another country other than their homeland and the strange and sad stories that lie behind them.
Love Arranged (2011 – Soniya Kirpalani) – The concept of an “arranged” marriage may seem completely strange to some people, but it depends on your approach. For the two young but modern women who are the focus of Kirpalani’s hour-long documentary, an arranged marriage (or at least the process of being presented possible suitors) can be viewed as less of an emotional minefield than the dating scene and much more efficient at pruning out the dregs to find the safe, eligible candidates. One of the two is focused on her business and her partying with friends while the other is much more quiet, reflective and logical. They both find that there is still a great deal of “old ways” thinking in current day India (regarding castes, lightness of skin colour, etc.), but decide to push through to see what awaits them. Even though the film only has two focus people, it really could have used some tightening up (in particular when it came to the self-involved women’s own problems and ideas), but also could have benefited from further expansion of wider issues, historical reasons for the process and other modern viewpoints.
The Lumberfros (2010 – Stephanie Lanthier) – The brush cutters of Abitibi (in northern Quebec) lead pretty simple lives – cut during the day, back to the barrack-like trailers at night. Repeat. They are each given specific parcels of land from which they need to clear undergrowth to allow easier access for lumber cutting and use heavy hand-held motorized tools through their long working days. It may not sound like a thrill-a-minute experience watching them and initially I thought the same thing, but the film grows on you…Specifically because of the people. The term “lumberfros” actually designates foreign workers who take on these jobs and we meet several of them from Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. They all have interesting stories and views on the work and strangely mix well with the Quebecois old timers (whose stories are equally interesting). The boisterous young African with the infectious laugh has big life plans, but many of the other men are content just to have work to support their families back in the city (typically in Montreal). A far better film than I had any right to expect and an interesting slice of life I had no idea existed.
Chocolate Farmer (2011 – Rohan Fernando) – Through the life of one cocoa bean farmer in Belize and his large family (the number of children he has is easily into the double figures), this National Film Board of Canada feature shows how the encroaching culture of the “Western” world is changing long held ways of life. The farmer loves his work – in particular he loves his forest and the ability to spend so much time with nature every day. His kids aren’t quite as interested, though, as he tries to get his sons to follow him and works on marrying off his daughters. It’s hard to choose the most interesting aspects of this fine film – watching the choices of his kids as they realize there’s a whole other world out there or learning the secrets of a rainforest farmer.
