Skip to main content

Alex Law's award-winning Echoes of the Rainbow receives its Canadian premiere at VIFF.

The following short reviews of films screening at the 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival are by Marsha Lederman, Fiona Morrow, James Adams, James Bradshaw, Guy Dixon, Rick Groen, Liam Lacey, Gayle MacDonald, J. Kelly Nestruck, Johanna Schneller. The star ratings are on a scale of four.

Screening Wednesday October 13

When the Devil Knocks

Helen Slinger (Canada)

THREE STARS

If Sybil was Hollywood's terrifying glimpse into Multiple Personality Disorder, When the Devil Knocks is its Canadian counterpoint: an intimate, unblinking examination of one woman's experience with what is now called Dissociative Identity Disorder. Hilary Stanton's alternate personalities, or "alters," developed during a childhood wracked by a neighbour's sexual abuse. The alters took over in times of crisis, essentially protecting young Hilary, but leaving large gaps of memory in her life. She grew up, married, had children, but the alters remained. In middle age, Stanton began seeing a psychologist, who videotaped sessions where the alters emerged. These remarkable tapes, along with interviews and dramatizations of Stanton's alters, make for a fascinating account - without the Hollywood sensation. This understated documentary, clearly bound for television, offers two heroes worthy of the big screen: Stanton - with her calm courage - and Cheryl Malmo, the therapist who guides Stanton back to a manageable, rewarding life.

Oct. 13 6:00 p.m., Granville 5

Oct. 14 1:00 a.m. Vancity







---

Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux)

Xavier Beauvois (France)

FOUR STARS

This moving, elegantly made spiritual docudrama, which won the runner-up Grand Prize at Cannes, follows the last weeks in the lives of a handful of Trappist monks living in a remote Algerian mountain community in 1996. Facing increasing threats from armed Islamic militants, the monks defy orders to return home, as they maintain their daily routine: eating, singing, praying and providing medical aid and educational help to the local Muslim villagers. The source of their spiritual strength and eventual demise is the belief of abbot Christian de Chergé (The Matrix's Lambert Wilson). Though dismissed by some critics as hagiography, this timely film does not settle for easy answers about the limits of empathy and the clash of faiths. L.L.

Oct. 13 3:30 p.m., Granville 6

---

Another Year

Mike Leigh (U.K.)

THREE STARS

As the seasons spin through another British year, a married couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) are an island of mature wisdom in a sea of emotional shipwrecks. Around them, as friends and relatives plunge ever more deeply into the slough of despond, they do what good people can and wise people must - that is, help as much as possible without dragging themselves down into the same mire. From a superb cast, there's much talk here but, typically of a Mike Leigh film, the wordiness always feels cinematic. Better still, as in Happy-Go-Lucky, Leigh achieves something remarkable: Without once stooping to sentimentality, he manages to make goodness both ethically convincing and dramatically compelling. Even Milton couldn't pull that off. R.G.

Oct. 13 3:45 Vancity

---

Heartbeats (Les amours imaginaires)

Xavier Dolan (Canada)

THREE STARS

Xavier Dolan's follow-up to his precocious Cannes sensation, I Killed My Mother, is a stylish tale of unrequited romance and beautiful cheekbones. Dolan plays the role of Francis, a sweet young gay man whose best friend is the bookish, acerbic Marie (Monia Chokri), who devotes herself to dressing like Audrey Hepburn. They both meet the Adonis-like Nicholas (Niels Schneider) at a party and share a crush on the young man. Nicholas, charismatic and gracious, keeps them both in a tizzy, though his own motivations remain obscure. Faux-documentary interviews with various young folk reveal other romantic miscues. Filled with slo-mo, fantasy scenes and lushly saturated images reminiscent of Pedro Almodovar and Wong Kar-wai, Heartbeats is a prettily wrapped if modest cadeau from a 22-year-old writer-director who continues to expand his palette as a filmmaker. L.L.

Oct.13 1:15 p.m., Visa Screening Room

---

R U There

Director: David Verbeek (Netherlands)

TWO STARS

A track suit-wearing competitive video gamer gets shocked out of the self-indulgent pointlessness of his life when he witnesses a terrible accident on the streets of Taipei, where he has travelled for a tournament. A coincidental (or is it?) shoulder injury conspires to keep him out of play, and gives him the opportunity to explore his surroundings - and himself. But when he meets a local woman who intrigues him, he finds once again that the virtual world may be more satisfying than the real world. This time, though, it's her choice, not his. She's happy to connect with him in Second Life, but not in real life. The slow, plodding pace of the film is the antithesis of the action-packed on-screen gaming world. Surely this is deliberate, but it's a juxtaposition that might not work for some audience members who have grown accustomed to the virtues of the fast-paced online world. M.L.

Oct. 13 11 am Vancity Theatre

---

The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy

Alan Gilsenan (Ireland)

THREE STARS

Folk singer Liam Clancy takes centre stage one last time to tell the amazing tale of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Like so many before them, the lads emigrated from poverty in Ireland to hope in America, but anything typical about this story ends there. Liam winds up in the clutches of a Guggenheim heiress, then goes on with his brothers and their mate to folk-music fame, earning the praise of Bob Dylan, the attention of John F. Kennedy and a guest spot on The Ed Sullivan Show. Even if you've never heard of them - even if you hate the music - you'll be drawn in by Liam Clancy's honest, vivid recollections. His storytelling prowess elevates this documentary from an exercise in nostalgia to an intimate work of poetry. Director Gilsenan handles the ending, which will be well known to fans, masterfully. M.L.

Oct. 13, 9:30 p.m., Granville 7

---

Armadillo

Janus Metz (Denmark)

THREE STARS

Like the recent U.S. documentary Restrepo, this Danish doc takes viewers directly into combat in Afghanistan, as it follows a Danish platoon on a six-month tour of duty. The film took the top prize at this year's Critics' Week at Cannes, and it's easy to see why. The cinematography is artistically varied and often shot amazingly in the direct line of gunfire and bursting mortar. Like Restrepo, this is all about showing the rawness of war, and the documentary has perhaps inevitably sparked debate in Denmark about the nature in which its forces are being used in Afghanistan. But there's another controversy of the more cinematic kind: While the footage is expertly photographed, all the different uses of filters and postproduction colour correction (to say nothing of the superb sound) - which gives the film an almost Apocalypse Now quality at times - is disturbing when we're talking not about the mythology and madness of war, but about showing real, dead people in a ditch or actual children running from fighting. It'll depend on where the viewer stands in that debate. G.D.



Oct. 13 9:15 p.m. Granville 4

---

Winds of Heaven

Michael Ostroff (Canada)

TWO STARS

This documentary is beautiful to look at: Emily Carr's paintings play off breathtaking footage of the British Columbia landscape which inspired the art, and archival footage of the times that shaped the artist. Relying primarily on Carr's own writings (some scenes are cleverly and subtly re-enacted), but also commentary from art historians, critics and curators, Ostroff aims to provide a profile of Carr in the context of her time. He wisely decides to weave her achievements with the fraught history of B.C.'s First Nations, but this distracts him, and he's blown off-course from the central tale. There's too much here, and it's woven together in a disorderly muddle, with commentators introducing themselves after they've made their points. Still, there are some fascinating revelations, and it's worth wading through the confusion to get at the portrait that emerges of Carr the woman, and to gawk at her magnificent art. M.L.



Oct. 13 1 pm Granville 2



---



Togetherness Supreme

Director: Nathan Collett (Kenya/US)

THREE STARS

The events surrounding the December 2007 presidential election in Kenya are examined through a group of young men living in Kibera, an enormous Nairobi slum. In this feature - based on a true story - Kamau, the son of a slumlord, joins the upstart Orange Democratic Movement even though as a Kikuyu, he is a member of the hated ruling tribe. A good soul and talented artist, Kamau longs for meaningful change. So does his friend Otieno, although his intentions are a little more murky when it comes to a local nurse, Alice, who has also attracted Kamau's affections. But when vote-rigging leads to rioting in the streets, there are more important matters at stake than who will win Alice's heart. Using a cast and crew made up almost entirely of locals, Togetherness Supreme is a well-told, well-realized window into recent, ugly African history. M.L.

Oct. 13 9:15 pm Pacific Cinematheque

Oct. 15 2:30 pm Granville 2



---



Screening later

The Robber



Benjamin Heisenberg (Austria/Germany)



FOUR STARS







Based on the true story of Austrian bank robber Johannes Rettenberger, who took up running in jail and remerged unrepentant - and a whole lot faster at getaways.



Heisenberg takes a spare, realistic aesthetic, never troubling to delve into the whys or wherefores of Rettenberger's motives. He robs banks; he runs - and that's what we see on screen.



Andreas Lust puts in a notably committed performance as the robber, as believable at wielding a shotgun as he is winning races.



Intelligent and engrossing, the movie shows Heisenberg as interested in form as content. A factor most evident in the running scenes, where Rettenberger - always powering forward -never gets any further ahead in the frame. Alienated and unsatisfied, Rettenberger is as trapped in his sense of subversion as a mouse on a wheel; compelled to continue, but never understanding his goal. F.M.

Oct. 15 11:00 a.m., Visa Screening Room

---

Incendies

Denis Villeneuve (Canada/France)

THREE STARS

In Genie-winning director Denis Villeneuve's follow-up to Polytechnique, twins Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) receive two letters after the death of their mother Nawad (Lubna Azabal) - one to deliver to the father they thought was dead, the other to deliver to a brother they never knew existed. With the help of a friendly notary played by Rémy Girard, the two journey to their mother's Middle Eastern country to discover the shocking truth about their war-torn origins. Villeneuve's well-acted adaptation of acclaimed play Incendies (known as Scorched in English) almost entirely drops playwright Wajdi Mouawad's intense, poetic language, exchanging them for intense, poetic visuals of empty swimming pools and burning orphanages stunningly shot by cinematographer André Turpin. A sensible switch from stage to screen, but lovers of the original may be disappointed: The story seems smaller, almost schematic, having been brought down to earth by Villeneuve's screenplay. The film is not as tightly structured either, so we keep learning surprises just a few steps ahead of the characters, diminishing the emotional impact of what could be a modern Greek tragedy. J.K.N.

Oct. 14 3:00 p.m., Visa Screening Room

---

Pink Saris

Kim Longinotto (UK)

2.5 stars

Sampat Pal Devi is a formidable woman. An untouchable, from the Uttar Pradesh region of India, she has made it her life's mission to protect other women from the abuse and indignities bestowed because of caste and gender. It's no easy task - the prejudice runs deep, and the consequences of pushing back can be dire; women have been burned for far less. Her supporters are known as the Gulabi Gang - their trademark, the shocking pink saris of the title - and have often suffered violence at the hands of demanding in-laws. The director of Divorce Iranian Style and Sisters In Law, Longinotto approaches her subject with similar restraint, eschewing voice over and allowing events to take place in front of her camera. This time however, Longinotto allows her central subject to dominate - to the detriment of the film. It's a shame, though hardly a surprise that others would prefer to let Devi do all the talking. F.M.



Thursday October 14, 6:45 p.m., Granville 2



---











Dear Prudence

Rebecca Zlotowski (France)

TWO STARS

Left home alone after her mother's death and her father's flight to Canada to settle the estate, Prudence does what any grieving, confused and abandoned teenager would: She goes off the rails. Ditching school, shoplifting, hanging out with the local biker crowd - Prudence checks off all the self-destructive boxes in an effort to transplant the real pain with something else. It's a promising debut from director Zlotowski, and she elicits a suitably sullen performance from Léa Seydoux as the troubled teen. Interesting, too, are the few scenes at Prudence's aunt and uncle's home at Rosh Hashanah, with subtly played tensions around both her refusal to observe Jewish mourning rituals and her male cousin's sexuality. But the central conceit is well-trodden, and Zlotowski fails to bring anything substantially new or different to the subject. F.M.

Oct. 15, 11: 40 a.m., Granville 3

---

Repeaters



Director: Carl Bessai (Canada)

TWO STARS

In this One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-meets-Groundhog Day thriller, three inmates (with addiction, not mental health, issues) re-live the same day again and again. Kyle (Dustin Milligan) at first goes along with Michael's (Richard de Klerk) plan to exploit the phenomenon by breaking the law - and the rules of their rehab - with impunity. But the freedom of their weird predicament quickly turns sour, at least for Kyle and Sonia (Amanda Crew). The film is beautifully shot (by Bessai) in Mission, B.C.; the chill of the landscape permeating the creepy story: a metaphor, it would seem, for the horrendous cycle of addiction. Strong performances by Milligan, Crew and de Klerk carry the film, but they can't make up for a flimsy script that never quite explains what's going on and fails to properly explore the terrible events that led to the characters' downfall. M.L.



Oct. 14 6:30 pm Park Theatre

---



Love Shines

Director: Douglas Arrowsmith (Canada)

THREE STARS

Feist calls him Canada's songwriter-laureate, but Ron Sexsmith, as it turns out, has major self-esteem issues. In this revealing and intimate documentary, the Toronto-based singer-songwriter heads to the studio to record his 12th album, hoping for some success this time in terms of radio play and record sales. Scenes from the recording studio are interspersed with interviews with music industry superstars (Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Daniel Lanois) singing his praises. Arrowsmith successfully presents the paradox: everyone says he's a genius, but Sexsmith is full of self-doubt. But where the documentary falls down is the half-hearted window on Sexsmith's personal life. Does he have issues with his son? And if so, what are they? Toward the end, a daughter simply shows up; that relationship is never explored. If the film is going down that road, it shouldn't stop before it gets some answers. Or at least poses the question properly. The music is brilliant, though, and there are a couple of stunning concert sequences. M.L.

Oct. 15 3:45 pm Vancity

---



The Desert of Forbidden Art

Director: Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev (Uzbekistan, USA, Russia)

THREE STARS

In the middle of the desert in Uzbekistan stands a remarkable art museum filled with treasures by artists you've probably never heard of. Here's the twist: the museum, bursting with modern art masterpieces forbidden under the Soviet regime, was in fact funded by the unsuspecting state. It's thanks to the cunning, persuasive powers and sharp eye of Igor Savitsky, a failed artist himself but a brilliant collector. Savitsky carefully amassed works from artists who continued to create under terrible conditions: they were thrown into the Gulag, or forced to rat out other artists, or simply lived and worked in a perpetual state of fear. Their dark stories are brought to life beautifully in this film using the art Savistky collected. Gorgeous to look at and horrible in its revelations, The Desert of Forbidden Art achieves what documentaries do best, uncovering and exploring a world that the viewer probably had no idea existed. M.L.

Oct. 14 10:45 am Pacific Cinematheque

---

---



---













---

























The Illusionist (L'illusionniste)

Sylvain Chomet (U.K.)

THREE STARS

A surprisingly melancholic homage to the great French filmmaker Jacques Tati. This animated feature from the director of The Triplets of Belleville has no manic scenes or even outright moments of hilarity. Instead, it pleasingly and quietly follows a character resembling the angular and awkward Tati as an itinerant magician who finds himself in Scotland. Along the way, a young girl tags along, creating a father-daughter bond which never fully explains itself. It never needs to. Based on an unproduced script by Tati himself, the story was thought to the late filmmaker's message to his daughter, while Chomet's own daughter went through her teen years as he made this film. What both filmmakers left for us is a beautiful, ambiguous dream. G.D.

Oct. 15 7:00p.m., Visa Screening Room

Oct. 15 9.45 p.m., Visa Screening Room

---





Interact with The Globe