This movie was much more than I expected, and I became absorbed within minutes of turning it on. I could talk about its shortcomings and faults, but that would be missing the point. You know that a full length indie feature made on a minuscule budget of less than $20k and and an incredibly short filming and production time will not be sleek Hollywood fare.
While the plot focuses on an encounter between two strangers exploring their aboriginal roots in an urban setting, their search is ultimately a humanly portrayed exploration of a personal identity and spirituality and its subsequent expression in their daily lives and the choices they will make. We witness their growing intimacy in this shared exploration and we follow them beyond their genetic roots into some of the larger questions in their lives - and by extension, in our own lives. I don't want to recap the storyline here.
I felt the acting was quite good, liked the soundtrack too. With this kind of budget, I was expecting sound loops and honking sound effects or drab, moody atmospheric sound bites. It was scored, and sounded really good. While not a comedy, there was a general lightness to the film that balanced the weighter questions that the two protagonists ask each other and explore within themselves. There is an integrity to this story, and a lack of sentimentality that I found really refreshing. It made me laugh in remembrance of my own history, and it made me cry too. I loved watching the credits for it was clear that this movie was truly a labour of love. Almost everybody did almost everything, it seems. Mr. Belcourt, I'll watch your next movie too!
