Reviews of screenings from the 2011 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto, Canada.
Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. (Dir: Canaan Brumley)
Even the modern "army of one" requires a lot of brutal depersonalization to strip away the ego and build up a soldier. This film tracks a squadron of fresh recruits through Marine boot camp. It remains a low-tech experience, and except for a couple shots of a computer screen, this could have taken place at any point of the last century — or, hell, maybe almost anywhere going back to Roman times. The basics, like learning to march in formation, how to respond to noncoms or how to crawl through mud go back a long way, I'd guess. Unlike those feature films about military life that lose their spark when basic training gives way to combat (Full Metal Jacket, of course, but also Stripes), Ears Open stays focused on this first step of creating fighting men. Strictly observational, with some nausea-inducing shaky-cam, this was well-enough done to stick in the memory, but not compelling enough to supplant those non-doc films mentioned above.
45365 (Dir: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross)
Like the above, this is non-competition film in the Ripping Reality series, which is a chance for programmers to offer some of the "ones that got away" in recent years. This one is an observational look at life within the titular zip code, in the small city of Sidney, Ohio. It's a nice-enough place as we follow some of America's favourite things, including the high-school football team and a judge campaigning for re-election. Beyond the arc of the seasons, we follow a few characters along, and also just drop in on a few others. Although there's some sad moments, it's mostly a pretty appealing way to live — even if all those trains passing through also echo the call of all the brighter lights down the line. If you come from something smaller than a big city, this will probably resonate to some degree. For those who enjoy an unrushed pace and unforced narrative arc, this is a highly-rewarding film.
Koundi and the National Thursday (Dir: Ariane Astrid Atodji)
An intriguing companion piece to the above, this is also a languidly-paced, unobtrusively observational portrait of life in a small town. But the location in question here is a village in Cameroon, with its own rhythms and little struggles. Koundi is actually relatively prosperous — thanks to a timber-harvesting contract, there's a new school and health clinic, plus food to eat and jobs for most. But fearing that the good times might not last forever, the members of the village collectively decide that everyone should devote one day a week (the "national Thursday") to developing a cocoa plantation. The film lets a typical week leading up to that event unfold, and we learn a lot about how Koundi operates, from work and school to family life, from mediating disputes to the role of the local healing woman. It's also a chance to see how life is for girls and women in this society. A remarkably accomplished and immersive debut feature for Atodji.
Family Instinct (Dir: Andris Gauja)
File under: grim. Shot cinematically, this could easily be taken as a work in the contemporary European "cinema of misery" — not unlike something from the Dardenne brothers, say, or a Romanian picture. On an isolated former collective farm in Latvia, there's not much to do. Zanda is waiting for Valdis — both her brother and the father of her children — to return from prison, passing the time fending off inebriated suitors and fretting over whether he will be too violent to allow back into the lives of her and her children. Not a barrel of laughs, then, though there are moments of levity and even quiet pastoral beauty. Don't expect a lot of redemption or hope, but it's a striking character study and vivid snapshot, even if it's not one Latvia is going to be using on any tourist literature.
At the Edge of Russia (Dir: Michal Marczak)
The film arrives with young soldier Aleksey at his new posting: a remote border patrol post in Russia's Arctic. Here, six men are isolated together in a small cabin, patrolling the wasteland and digging snow-trenches. Aleksey learns the ropes from the older men, mostly endearingly crusty types who we get to know a bit. Not much else happens. Given that setup (six men isolated in a remote, wintry landscape) I kept waiting for the bodies to pile up one by one, and had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't a thriller like The Thing. Once my mind accepted the mere usualness of it all, it was a rather enjoyable time, with some nice visuals and some interesting characters. Recommended.
The Battle for Barking (Dir: Laura Fairrie)
Set in the outer London suburbs of Barking-Dagenham during the last British general election, this takes us inside the ascendant campaign of Nick Griffin, leader of the anti-immigrant British National Party as well as the reaction from incumbent Labour MP Margaret Hodge. Refusing to demonize the BNP or their supporters (outside of their own pronouncements), this film shows the BNP's appeal to the unemployed and those who want to return to "the old ways". Meanwhile, the eminently huggable Hodge mobilizes the new, multicultural population of her riding to fight back. Perhaps less of a horse-race than the film wants to let on, this is still highly watchable and wins on the strength of its characters.
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