TIFF12 REVIEW: 2012 Short Cuts Canada Programmes

Programme 2

H’mong Sisters
Score: 8/10 | ★ ★ ★


Rating: NR | Runtime: 13 minutes
Director(s): Jeff Wong
Writer(s): Jeff Wong

“The cuter we are, the more they buy”

Dealing with cultural differences and the sexualization of Third World inhabitants, Jeff Wong‘s H’mong Sisters will definitely open your eyes to the sad truths faced in foreign countries. Setting the film in the mountains of Vietnam, Wong shows how the poor indigenous tribes stop at nothing to accommodate tourists by showing them around in hopes of receiving money in return. But while Paj (Thùy Anh) is no longer naïve to the forward advances of Western visitors beyond buying trinkets for souvenirs, her sister three years her junior still is.

The dynamic between the two girls rapidly changes as the reality of their situation becomes clearer. For thirteen-year old Mu (Phùng Hoa Hoài Linh), the prospect of joining her sister on the streets can only be a fun, enjoyable experience if what she’s heard is true. So when their mark Jackson (Scott Dean) begins flirting with her instead of her older, chattier counterpart, you can’t blame the girl for feeling liked. What the child doesn’t understand, however, are the ulterior motives behind this kindness.

Shot with a sure hand and possessing some fantastically nuanced performances, H’mong Sisters exposes this brand of exploitation occurring throughout the world. These young girls find themselves working towards better tips, and better sales, but at what cost? Watching Anh’s final turn to the camera gives us our answer as Linh’s confusion reminds us about the innocence so many will easily take advantage of if presented the opportunity.


Faillir [Struggle]
Score: 9/10 | ★ ★ ★ ½


Rating: NR | Runtime: 24 minutes
Director(s): Sophie Dupuis
Writer(s): Sophie Dupuis

“And it won’t be your last heartbreak”

Controversial is a bit of an understatement when it comes to Sophie DupuisFaillir [Struggle]. Whether the French Canadian family depicted is as progressive this one or not, I’m not sure the level of sexual tension between siblings here will ever be fathomable. Yes, the physical competitiveness of brothers and sisters can be confused as the flirtations of young lovers to outsiders, but it shouldn’t necessarily be so to those bound by blood.

Ariane (Noémi Lira) and Simon (Antoine Paquin) nonchalantly occupying and using the bathroom where their mother (Sonia Vigneault) is still drying off in the tub can be construed as a comfortable family meet-up when compared to what’s coming. Close-knit and open to share their emotions and thoughts, this trio is completely transparent as Ariane readies to leave Val-d’Or for Montreal while the rest stay behind. So, when we see the siblings’ sad, hurt eyes as the other goes off with whatever conquest they have acquired, the realization a confrontation about these feelings will too be on its way.

For Dupuis, however, the taboo itself isn’t enough as she lets her characters act on emotions to bring tensions to a head in a scene made difficult to watch because of the knowledge we have about these two young, active kids’ relationship. She gives no easy answers and instead allows our personal reactions to what occurs serve as the final word on the subject. Lira and Paquin let a newfound awkwardness coexist with the never-changing love they have for one another in authentic performances that will have you second-guessing the improper exchange portrayed.

Are you a prude if you find Struggle off-putting or are a moral, sound human being? Dupuis will make you ask this question and figure out your stance on a subject no one wants to speak about. Whether you’re on one fence or the other, however, you can’t deny the power its subject matter holds or the internal conversation it breeds.


Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
Score: 8/10 | ★ ★ ★


Rating: NR | Runtime: 14 minutes
Director(s): Stephen Dunn
Writer(s): Stephen Dunn

“I’m turning 13, not 3”

On the cusp of womanhood with only her grandfather and pet pug to help lead her through, birthday girl Esther Weary (Jade Aspros) was probably hoping for a better day. Between her Halloween costume resembling a piñata, ‘mean girl’ Gabby (Leah McPherson) proclaiming her ugly and big-nosed, and Richard (Oliver Ungar) the nerdy, allergy-ridden robot seeing her at her most vulnerable, arriving home to an eccentric guardian attempting to comfort with all the wrong words only increases her sense of isolation.

Stephen Patrick Dunn‘s Life Doesn’t Frighten Me is an endearing example of alternative families and the struggle to compensate when life’s changes occur without warning. There is a deadpan, Napoleon Dynamite-type tone to the first half—cemented by pop-up book end credits set to Sufjan Stevens—as Esther’s time at school exists as though in a dream. Both the tempo and emotion do pick up, though, once she comes home to King Henry the pug and Grandpa (Gordon Pinsent).

Quirky to a fault, Dunn has a firm handle on his message and scales back to allow his actors a level of authenticity when necessary. Aspros’ angst is perfectly forlorn and Pinsent’s misguided assistance to be mother and father at this delicate time is a great mix of humor and compassionate humility. Funny and relevant, the light atmosphere assists in making the subject matter accessible while the actors shine in the process.


Tuesday
Score: 6/10 | ★ ★ ½


Rating: NR | Runtime: 14 minutes
Director(s): Fantavious Fritz
Writer(s): Fantavious Fritz

“Ok, if you guys see him let me know”

Supposedly based on The Catcher in the Rye‘s Holden Caulfield’s younger sister Phoebe—which sadly means less to me than it should being almost two decades since I read it—Fantavious Fritz‘s Tuesday is a look into the drama of being a twentysomething. Saddled with two jobs and no time to sell her microwave, the titular character’s (Daiva Zalnieriunas) day is a series of mishaps. Unable to catch her breath without being told what she’s done wrong, fate is rarely kind.

There is a whimsical feel to Tuesday’s actions with an abundance of innocence and naivety doing little to help when trouble rears its head. Tilting her shoes as though Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz after she has lost one of the dogs in her care, we soon discover she never lets the bad moments define her life.

Happy-go-lucky despite the often depressed and manic look on her face when letting those around her down, the film feels like a sitcom at times. She is robbed, fired, and perpetually late for meetings and yet always chipper and optimistic as she is walking Bruce the dog down the street. There is a sense of immortality at play as though the negatives will always be met with a positive if surrender is refused. I guess being a twentysomething has that feeling in spades with the future still ahead and life’s lemons yet to have jaded the sunny disposition.


Asian Gangs
Score: 8/10 | ★ ★ ★


Rating: NR | Runtime: 9 minutes
Director(s): Lewis Bennett & Calum MacLeod
Writer(s): Lewis Bennett & Calum MacLeod

“I still eat Oreos. I still have all my Pogs …”

Lewis Bennett and Calum MacLeod have crafted a perfect mix of comedy and hard facts for their documentary Asian Gangs. A look into a very real problem in and around the Vancouver area, Bennett’s utilization of an unexplainable memory helps to get us on the topic as well as have a little fun with it.

After a schoolyard tussle with his nemesis Chris Schroeder, the principal warned him to change his ways before finding himself in an Asian gang. As a Caucasian fifth grader in 1994, such a statement could be shrugged off without a second glance, but it’s unavoidable seventeen years later once his mother recalls the incident. So, by questioning his Asian friends Shauna and Jack, inquiring about his gang recruitment chances with Constable Doug Spencer, and reenacting the fight with Chris to see if the setting had something to do with the comment, Lewis humorously pokes fun at his manufactured ignorance.

The film does eventually find itself on a more serious road when talking to gang outreach worker Jonathan Wong, but even then the underlying comedy complements the message to facilitate memory with its hard-to-forget goofy nonsense. A fun gem hindered only by the participants’ occasionally looking as though they were coached or had preparation off-camera, Langley, British Columbia ends up looking like a pretty safe town to grow up in.


Vive la Canadienne
Score: 8/10 | ★ ★ ★


Rating: NR | Runtime: 4 minutes
Director(s): Joe Cobden
Writer(s): Joe Cobden

Don’t mess with a couple dancing through the park unless you want to risk getting your butt kicked. This is the impetus of the dance-fight at the center of Joe Cobden‘s Vive La Canadienne.

The writer/director himself and his cinematic love (Louise-Michel Jackson) are laughed at when happily leaping past a bench full of hooligans. After verbally telling them what she thinks of the mocking, Jackson removes her coat and shows the bullies exactly what she’s made of while Cobden watches in smitten delight like the old codgers spying the exchange on the fringe.

Set to the eponymous song—Canada’s original national anthem—this brawl is a delight to watch as gender roles reverse. Jackson defends the honor of her man and the two gleefully cavort through the park in love without a care in the world. I would too if my girlfriend could single-handedly dispatch a quintet of unsavory fellas with a few swift kicks.


Nostradamos


Rating: NR | Runtime: 9 minutes
Director(s): Maxence Bradley, Alexandre Lampron & Elisabeth Tremblay
Writer(s): Maxence Bradley, Alexandre Lampron & Elisabeth Tremblay

Unfortunately the screener DVD I received was missing the subtitles for this French-language short by Maxence Bradley, Elisabeth Tremblay, and Alexandre Lampron. The TIFF synopsis does sound intriguing, though, so hopefully I’ll be able to check it out in the future.

From Magail Simard:
“Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, Nostradamos takes place on the eve of the end of the world. As hordes of people flock to the city of Amos, Quebec after it is identified as the safest bet for survival in the face of the coming apocalypse, a number of local residents conspire to profit from the sudden influx of tourists.”


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