(I know I haven’t blogged here in a long while, but this needed to be said long-form.)I overheard a conversation between two women today about Ontario’s new sex education curriculum. One had received one of those hyperbolic emails detailing the horrors…
Continue readingAuthor: Jennifer Smith
Runesmith's Canadian Content: Never mind sex – what are you teaching your kid about MY kid?
(I know I haven’t blogged here in a long while, but this needed to be said long-form.) I overheard a conversation between two women today about Ontario’s new sex education curriculum. One had received one of those hyperbolic emails detailing the horrors that their children were going to be taught
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: Never mind sex – what are you teaching your kid about MY kid?
(I know I haven’t blogged here in a long while, but this needed to be said long-form.) I overheard a conversation between two women today about Ontario’s new sex education curriculum. One had received one of those hyperbolic emails detailing the horrors that their children were going to be taught
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #5: Take Shelter
I first noticed Michael Shannon in the movie ‘Bug’, which was marketed as a horror movie but is really much scarier than that. His performance was profoundly disturbing, so much so that I find it difficult to watch him in anything without feeling uneas…
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #5: Take Shelter
I first noticed Michael Shannon in the movie ‘Bug’, which was marketed as a horror movie but is really much scarier than that. His performance was profoundly disturbing, so much so that I find it difficult to watch him in anything without feeling uneasy. In both that film and this
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #5: Take Shelter
I first noticed Michael Shannon in the movie ‘Bug’, which was marketed as a horror movie but is really much scarier than that. His performance was profoundly disturbing, so much so that I find it difficult to watch him in anything without feeling uneasy. In both that film and this
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #4: It’s Not You, It’s Me
I was very much looking forward to seeing ‘A Separation’ last night. From everything I had heard, it was a moving and emotionally complex film experience that even its competitors felt deserved the Oscar it received. I enjoyed it very much. The story was fascinating, the performances spot on. It’s
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #4: It’s Not You, It’s Me
I was very much looking forward to seeing ‘A Separation’ last night. From everything I had heard, it was a moving and emotionally complex film experience that even its competitors felt deserved the Oscar it received.I enjoyed it very much. The story wa…
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #4: It’s Not You, It’s Me
I was very much looking forward to seeing ‘A Separation’ last night. From everything I had heard, it was a moving and emotionally complex film experience that even its competitors felt deserved the Oscar it received. I enjoyed it very much. The story was fascinating, the performances spot on. It’s
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #3: The Rules
I’m starting to get the hang of this whole ‘Ebertfest’ thing. The first house rule I had to learn was the ‘saving your seat’ protocol. People will grab the best seat they can find as soon as they get into the theatre, and will mark their territory for the rest
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #3: The Rules
I’m starting to get the hang of this whole ‘Ebertfest’ thing. The first house rule I had to learn was the ‘saving your seat’ protocol. People will grab the best seat they can find as soon as they get into the theatre, and will mark their territory fo…
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #3: The Rules
I’m starting to get the hang of this whole ‘Ebertfest’ thing. The first house rule I had to learn was the ‘saving your seat’ protocol. People will grab the best seat they can find as soon as they get into the theatre, and will mark their territory for the rest
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #2: Kinyarwanda
Kinyarwanda is different from any film you’ve seen about the Rwandan genocide. It starts not with bloodshed, but with a kiss. Rwanda has pervaded our consciousness in Canada more so than elsewhere perhaps because of the role played by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire and his subsequent humanitarian and advocacy work. But
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #2: Kinyarwanda
Kinyarwanda is different from any film you’ve seen about the Rwandan genocide. It starts not with bloodshed, but with a kiss.
Rwanda has pervaded our consciousness in Canada more so than elsewhere perhaps because of the role played by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire and his subsequent humanitarian and advocacy work. But this is not his story. Nor is it the story of the other U.N. peacekeepers, or of the Hotel Rwanda.
These are the very personal stories of ordinary Rwandans, from both sides of the conflict.
That last bit is vital. As the director put it, he didn’t want to make another film about heroes and villains because to truly understand and prevent such a thing in the future, you must first understand and humanize – and ultimately forgive – those who committed the atrocities.
This isn’t a concept that we in the West are terribly comfortable with, but it’s a lesson that needs to be learned. They have learned it well in South Africa, and are making great strides towards healing in Rwanda. The film shows that reconciliation process early on, before you see what these men actually did.
It’s a neat trick of time manipulation that the writer uses deftly, together with interweaving story lines and the gradual revelation of relationships between the characters. It’s a complex masterpiece of storytelling that drives home our understanding that these are all one people. They all suffered. They all have to live with the consequences. And they can only do it together.
One of the most moving scenes for me was at the mosque where the Imam has taken in anyone seeking asylum – Tutsi and Hutu, Muslim and Christian alike. A Catholic Tutsi priest, who was initially resistant to associating with either Hutus or Muslims, is leading Mass on one side of the worship space, while on the other, separated by the thinnest barrier, the Imam leads the Muslim prayer service.
The chants of Allahu Akbar and the Lord’s Prayer are heard in counterpoint, like a canon, as the camera pans from one side to the other. Different, but completely harmonious.
During the Q&A, the director revealed that the film was shot in 16 days on a budget of $250,000, much of which came from film grants from Rwanda. Incredible. After that, I never want to hear the excuse that a filmmaker didn’t have enough time or money to make a great film.
Runesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #2: Kinyarwanda
Kinyarwanda is different from any film you’ve seen about the Rwandan genocide. It starts not with bloodshed, but with a kiss. Rwanda has pervaded our consciousness in Canada more so than elsewhere perhaps because of the role played by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire and his subsequent humanitarian and advocacy work. But
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #1: On the Road Again
Excuse me while I remove my political blogger hat and replace it with my film critic and movie blogger hat…there we go… Greetings from the beautifully restored Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign, Illinois! For those who aren’t familiar with it, EbertFest, or more properly Roger Ebert’s Film Festival,
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #1: On the Road Again
Excuse me while I remove my political blogger hat and replace it with my film critic and movie blogger hat…there we go… Greetings from the beautifully restored Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign, Illinois! For those who aren’t famil…
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: EbertFest Dispatch #1: On the Road Again
Excuse me while I remove my political blogger hat and replace it with my film critic and movie blogger hat…there we go… Greetings from the beautifully restored Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign, Illinois! For those who aren’t familiar with it, EbertFest, or more properly Roger Ebert’s Film Festival,
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: True Grit: Why a meaningless boxing match just might mean everything
Voters are a fickle, shallow bunch sometimes. The least little thing can put them off. Nixon’s sweaty lip during his televised debate with Kennedy. Stephane Dion’s sad sack shrug. Stockwell Day’s jet ski ride to political oblivion. Political history is littered with the corpses of promising careers brought low by
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: True Grit: Why a meaningless boxing match just might mean everything
Voters are a fickle, shallow bunch sometimes. The least little thing can put them off. Nixon’s sweaty lip during his televised debate with Kennedy. Stephane Dion’s sad sack shrug. Stockwell Day’s jet ski ride to political oblivion. Political history is littered with the corpses of promising careers brought low by
Continue reading