Hot Docs 2010: May 6 (Thursday)

Reviews of screenings from the 2010 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto, Canada.

Marwencol (Dir: Jeff Malmberg)

Victim of a brutal beating one night after leaving a bar, Mark Hogancamp is left in a coma, body and mind shattered. Suffering from memory loss and physical frailty and cut off by Medicaid, he undergoes his own manner of therapy by escaping to his own reality at one-sixth scale. He builds a Second World War village populated by action figures and barbie dolls, which includes not only his own "alter ego" but representatives of the people in his life. With a sliding line between what lies in his fantasy world and what doesn't, Hogancamp documents his meticulous creations with photographs. As the narrative of his world gets more elaborate, his town grows and people start to pay attention to his pictures — as objets d'art, and suddenly his private therapy is becoming something else.

There's more, but I won't be the one to tell you. Imaginatively shot to take us right into Hogancamp's unique world, this is truly one of those real-life stories that no-one could have made up. Marwencol is a terrific documentary — one of very best at this year's festival. Wherever this film ends up after Hot Docs, do not miss it.

Paired with the short Peter in Radioland (Dir: Johanna Wagner), also about a man escaping into his own separate reality, but it didn't leave as much of an impression. The powerful images left in my mind by the feature actually mostly obliterated all memory of this.

Feathered Cocaine (Dir: Thorkell Hardarsson, Orn Marino Arnarson)

Pitched as an exposé of the international falcon-smuggling racket, this documentary tries to be several movies all at once, to mixed results. Starting as a character study of falconry expert Alan Howell Parrot, this film gets off on an interesting foot. Starting his career as a falcon exporter serving the élite of the Middle East, Parrot is now devoted to stopping the practice, which he alleges is leading to a crash in the falcon population. His single-mindedness brings to mind Ric O'Barry from last year's eco-thriller The Cove as a former insider turned crusader.

Things take a left turn, however, when the film attempts to tie the international falcon black market to Middle East terrorism, with long lists of names, faces and dates rushing by, and the film is suddenly an espionage thriller about finding Osama Bin Laden. This whole part of the movie is less interesting, and the momentum, once lost, never really picks up again. As a whole, it's got an interesting message to deliver — who knew that falcon smuggling was even, like, a thing? — and Parrot is a fascinating guy, but there is an awkward juggling lurch to this film.

Divorce Iranian Style (Dir: Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir Hosseini)

Taking us to a place we may never have thought we'd find ourselves, Longinotto and her Iranian collaborator Ziba Mir Hosseini set their camera down in a Tehran divorce court and witness the drama of daily life unfold around them. Operating under sharia law but with an informal process and practical equity, the court hears from a wide variety of couples. Following several dockets, we get to know both the men and women pleading their cases as well as the courtroom staff. (The court secretary's young daughter steals the show when she decides to play judge — and she might well grow into it, if only female judges were allowed.) As always, Longinotto shows us strong women who are fighting in a system of restrictive social boundaries. Plus we get a glimpse of daily life in Iran, where people's problems aren't too different than they are everywhere else — a far more nuanced view of such a complicated society than we usually see. Powerful and intriguing.

Those last words could also be applied to Longinotto herself, in town for the remainder of the festival and on hand to discuss the film. Her presence filled the theatre during the Q & A, which could have stretched out much, much longer. Is there a name for that specific kind of crush where you want someone to be your brilliant, lovely aunt? I have that for Kim Longinotto.