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DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: (L-R) Actress Julie Christie,
actor Gordon Pinsent, Director Sarah Polley and
actress Olympia Dukakis arrive at the 2006 Toronto
International Film Festival gala presentation of the
film "Away From Her." Sarah Polley affectionately
refers to Ms. Christie as her adoptive mother and has
enjoyed a close relationship with the actress since the
death of her mother. (Jim Ross/Getty Images)
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- Stories Silly and Serious: Montreal Film Festival
Friday, November 03, 2006
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Stories Silly and Serious: Montreal Film Festival,
Part 2
Film Reviews of the Montreal Festival of New Cinema
By Frederic Eger
Special to The Epoch TimesNov 04, 2006
[ Editors' Note: ] According to its publicity
material, the Montreal Festival of New Cinema
held in October each year presents a distinctly
avant-garde focus. Viewers will watch film and
video, installations, websites and performances
with special emphasis on digital work. The
festival has four main sections�Feature Length
Film and Video, Short and Medium Length Film
and Video, New Media, and Digital Cinema.
Reviewer Frederic Eger has selected his top
picks to critique.
Rampage
My #1 pick of the festival is the new Georges
Gittoes documentary, Rampage, " about the
Lovett brothers, Denzell (Himself), Elliott
(Himself), and Marcus (Himself), who live in
"The Brown Sub" of Miami, Florida. This is an
area "on the other side of " Miami Beach where
the rich folks live.
A viewer's first thought upon sitting down to
watch might be: "Oh, come on another story
about those poor African-Americans victimizing
themselves." Not the case. George Gittoes
explores the nature and level of violence that African-Americans experience on a daily basis and makes a
comparison with the violence a U.S. soldier experiences in Iraq.
Elliott Lovett plays a soldier returning from Iraq to visit his family. The entire family are talented rappers,
especially Marcus and Denzel. Mr. Gittoes' film witnesses a family tragedy and feels some responsibility:
"That's the problem when you shoot a documentary�you're talking about real lives. The jealousy that
generated the documentary, following Lovett's daily lives, might be the cause of Marcus' death."
The documentary was shot with shoulder and hand cameras and confirms the suffering of African-
Americans in 2006. The editing, photography, music and all aesthetic choices gives the viewer the
impression that you are with these kids, and you sympathize with them and you tell yourself: "This is
unbelievable; this is happening today in one of the supposedly most civilized and rich countries of the
world�the United States of America."
One of Australia's foremost figurative painters, Georges Gittoes litterally uses the camera like a paint
brush. With a compassionate humanity and truthful reporting, he tells the story of the Lovett family. From
beginning to end, the film will open your eyes to realities that you may already know but that the film
will confirm about black folk in the ghettos.
Rampage
Written, directed and produced by Georges Gittoes
With Denzell Lovett (Himself,) Elliott Lovett (Himself,) Marcus Lovett (Himself)
******
Away From Her
Grant and Fiona Anderson have been married 44 years and are devoted to each other when suddenly Fiona
discovers she suffers from Alzheimer's. Staring at the mountains outside her window for hours to think
about this news, Fiona decides this is long-term and needs to enter the nearest rest home. Grant doesn't
want Fiona to be too far from him and feels the rest home as nothing less than a sentence on death row.
Fiona insists and is at ease with facility's "no contact" policy, including husbands, during the first 30 days
"to settle in," as manager Madame Madeleine Montpellier advises.
Fiona settles in so comfortably that she falls in love with Aubrey, a wheelchair-bound fellow Alzheimer's
patient. After the not-for-free 30 days trial period, Grant arrives smiling with flowers-in-hand, but
discovers he's not welcome anymore. In the throes of jealousy and despair, Grants dutifully visits his wife
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The Epoch Times | Stories Silly and Serious: Montreal Film Festival, Part 2 http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-11-4/47747.html
1 of 2 2/28/2015 9:09 PM
every day.
He asks himself if she wasn't just faking a memory loss to punish him for what the audience understands as
an extramarital transgression long before. Then, just as Grant is about to give up on his 44-year-old
marriage, Fiona returns to normal� and to him.
Sarah Polley focuses on the character-based script with a solid sense of storytelling. Ms. Polley worked on
three films with Julie Christie (Fiona) and declared Ms. Christie her "adoptive mother" since losing her own
mother shortly after her 11th birthday.
Ms. Christie suggests a woman living her older years like a young Emmanuelle which any husband would
still be in love with, even after almost 50 years. Gordon Pinset's tremendous sense of timing and delivery
remind us of Alec Guinness in manner and style.
But Ms. Polley's directorial debut walks a thin line between social issues of aging and Alzheimer's and a
love story. When comparing this film with other "hospital" stories such as Penny Marshall's Awakenings or
Stanley Kubrick's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or even the TV series "ER", it becomes merely a little
romantic drama with a few well-written and quite memorable lines.
And that's about it. Still, the effort of a Canadian directing her first feature on a subject of social
importance should be supported by critics and enjoyed by audiences. Good Night and good luck, Sarah
Polley!
Away From Her
Written and directed by Sarah Polley
Based on the short story "The Bear Who Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro
With Julie Christie (Fiona Anderson,) Gordon Pinset (Grant Anderson;) Olympia Dukakis (Marian,) Michael
Murphy (Aubrey,) Kristen Thomson (Kristy,) Wendy Crewson (Madeleine Montpellier,) Alberta Watson (Dr.
Fischer)
Please see Part One also.
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The Epoch Times | Stories Silly and Serious: Montreal Film Festival, Part 2 http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-11-4/47747.html
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