1000 Journals

VFF: Snapped Shots, Week Two

A random sampling of some of what’s on view this week at the Victoria Film Festival

1000 Journals

With his brilliant 1000 Journals project, San Francisco artist Someguy ponders what has happened to much of the world’s creativity. And hopefully folks seeing this fine documentary will take the subject to heart and get the creative side of their brain activated again. Akin to our local heroes the Woodpile Collective—who leave random pieces of art around town for folks to discover—Someguy distributed 1,000 blank journals around the globe. Andrea Kreuzhage’s film does a wonderful job following the books around the world to see how they affected people’s lives and how some of the unique books eventually make it back to the originator. It’s amazing how far-reaching the journals were and the stories they tell, while not always happy, are truly wonderful to behold. 

3 Saisons

Trust Québécois cinema to deliver a film with a triple threat—brilliant writing, directing and acting. In the first five minutes, it manages to capture something real and authentic, moving straight from a raw and gritty Montreal punk club scene to some hot sex in a washroom stall. Canadian director Jim Donovan weaves seemingly disparate storylines together until they finally collide. His artistry is revealed through relationships between flawed people with genuine depth and heart. Every scene that unfolds gives you more but also keeps you wondering how all these complex characters are connected.

Children of Armageddon

Looking for a sobering wake-up call about the post-nuclear age we live in? Children of Armageddon is all that and more. As told by (and to) second- and third-generation ancestors of the original 1945 atomic bombings and the subsequent nuclear tests of the 1950s, this compelling and arresting documentary should be required viewing for anyone who believes the phrase “tactical nuclear weapon” is not an oxymoron. Juxtaposing historical footage from the likes of Hiroshima and the Marshall Islands tests with first-person survivor interviews and talking heads like Noam Chomsky, Mel Hurtig and Hans Blix, B.C. director Fabienne Lips-Dumas has crafted the 21st-century’s first must-see anti-nuke doc for anyone who still loves this planet.

Epitaph

When I got home from watching this film I found a cat in the hallway of my apartment building. It stared at me as I walked past. While laying in bed wishing for sleep, something made me get up and open the door. There was the cat, still sitting in the same spot, still staring at me. Epitaph has nothing to do with cats, but since the tabby in the hallway was gnawing nervously at my subconcious, the film must have done something right, planting a kernel of fear in the back of my mind as any good horror movie should. The film takes viewers on a flashback journey to a young doctor’s internship at a Korean hospital and plays out in three decidedly weird vignettes. The camerawork and setting are striking and the scene of a bloodied car-crash-victim brushing her daughter’s hair while cooing in a guttural gurgle is as creepy as they come.

My Son the Pornographer

Knowing Victoria, the titillating title alone will probably already have the seats filled for the screening of My Son the Pornographer. Unfortunately, the title is as interesting as things get with this short doc. Showing the strained relationship of a stepfather and his troubled son, it sets up these characters but ultimately, the film does nothing to make you care for any of the selfish subjects. Their individual stories don’t really evolve and you are left with more unanswered questions in the end. 

That’s My Time

When faced with the prognosis of having one year to live, Canadian comedian Irwin Barker (writer for The Debaters, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Mercer Report) opts to hit the road with a series of stand-up shows to raise money for cancer research, culminating with a big performance in Vancouver exactly one year after his diagnosis. This documentary follows his progress, mixing footage of his downright hilarious cancer jokes with his behind-the-scenes struggle with aggressive chemo treatment and interviews with his family and comedy colleagues. The film gets a bit repetitive at times, but this is truly an inspiring story about what one man decided to do when he faced death: make everyone laugh about it.

Reviews by Stephanie Dawson, Amanda Farrell, Bill Stuart, John Threlfall and Jason Youmans