Film: Where I’m From / D’où je viens (2014)
Film: Good
Transfer: n/a Extras: n/a
Label: n/a
Region: n/a
Released: n/a
Genre: Documentary / Hot Docs 2014
Synopsis: The trials of director Claude Demers’ early childhood are experienced through striking images and present day vignettes of working class kids of Verdun, Montreal.
Special Features: n/a
Review:
Claude Demers’ personal reflections on his childhood in Verdun, a borough in Montreal, Quebec, are conveyed in a slightly experimental narrative design where the director’s impressionistic narration flows over striking images of the city’s waterways and rough streets, and vignettes featuring kids from a similar working class background.
The individual sequences are quite affecting – whether it’s the Kubrickian tracking shots in street alleys, following fast-moving skateboarding kids, a fiery church sermon, or a bed-ridden woman reflecting on death – but Demers’ approach might be a little too abstract, if not a little rambling as his memories are tangentially conveyed through footage of present day kids struggling with school, leisure activities, and friendships.
Demer’s approach isn’t far off from Terrence Malick’s own fractured yet dreamy narrative style, but it’s also a little meandering, offering select morsels of characters rather than clearly defined subjects with a firm end statement.
© 2014 Mark R. Hasan
External References:
IMDB — Hot Docs 2014 Listing
Vendor Search Links:
Amazon.ca
Category: Blu-ray / DVD Film Review
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