Day 5 of Hot Docs began with a screening of The Imposter. The review can be found
here.
The Boxing Girls of
Kabul
(Canada, 52 min.)
Dir. Ariel J. Nasr
The Boxing Girls of
Kabul is an inspiring story of three courageous girls in Afghanistan who
fight for equal rights one punch at a time. In spite of the continued presence
of a culture that places women in a submissive role, the three girls gain
self-confidence and self-empowerment by training together in hopes of one day
representing their country at the Olympics. Even though they cannot afford
proper equipment (they don’t even have a ring), the girls work hard and train
for competitions. Along with the help of their progressively-minded trainer,
the girls demonstrate that women can succeed in roles presumed to be
appropriate only for men.
There are still many dissenting voices nevertheless. One woman
quips that boxing might render the girls unfit for marriage. “Who will want a
daughter with a broken nose?” she asks. One scene shows the girls’ trainer
accosted by a man who recognizes him from TV. Likewise, a brother of one of the
girls explains that he wishes that the girls would not box because he fears that
the attention brought to them might make them victims should Afghanistan see a
reprisal from the Taliban. On the other hand, the girls mostly have the support
of their parents, especially their fathers, who are proud to see their girls
ushering in a voice that calls for change in Afghanistan. By training and
representing their country through sport, the girls give hope for women in
Afghanistan. The Boxing Girls of Kabul
uses the boxers to show an internal struggle for change in a country that has
long roots in a male-controlled culture.
At a quick fifty-two minutes, one wishes that the story
might have gone elsewhere, but the film nevertheless extends the boxing matches
outside the homes of the families and juxtaposes their training with scenes of
violence against women. Side-by-side, the scenes reveal the urgency of the
girls’ need to resist and fight back. Produced by The National Film Board of
Canada and directed by Ariel Nasr, The
Boxing Girls of Kabul is a well-done observation of how change begins at
the personal level.
The Boxing Girls of
Kabul is preceded by the short film Fire Academy (Dir. Kyle Power,
Canada). Like Boxing Girls, Fire Academy shows two girls training in
non-traditional roles. The girls want to become firefighters, and the film
shows them undergo the grueling and strenuous training. Featuring some
insightful comments within a mere ten minutes – not to mention some hilarious
footage of a Full Metal Jacket-ish
trainer – Fire Academy is an
impressive first film.
Ratings:
The Boxing Girls of Kabul: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Fire Academy: ★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
The Mystery of Mazo
de la Roche
(Canada, 52 min.)
Dir. Maya Gallus
 |
| Photo credit: Donna Santos |
Another mid-length doc presented by the National Film Board
of Canada (they co-produced this one), The
Mystery of Mazo de la Roche is an intriguing look at one of Canada’s most
prolific authors. Mazo de la Roche gained famed in the late 1920s for winning a
major literary prize (with a then cash value of $10 000) for her novel Jalna. The novel propelled de la Roche
to international stardom and made her the first major sensation for Canadian
literature. (One of the talking heads refers to her as the Margaret Atwood of
the Roaring Twenties.) She seems to have faded from contemporary readership
nevertheless. Speaking as an avid reader of Can Lit, her name is certainly
familiar to me, but her work rarely receives the same attention as Atwood, nor
do her books appear on many syllabi for literature courses. It seems that
Canada is forgetting one of its major literary voices.
de la Roche wrote a series of Jalna books, along with other novels and prose, yet The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche
interrogates her most intriguing work: her autobiography. Using much of Mazo de
la Roche’s own writing to serve as the narration, The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche offers some dramatic re-enactment
to act as visuals. The film also offers some interviews with Mazo’s daughter,
her daughter-in-law, some scholars, and other authors including Susan Swan (The Wives of Bath). The talking heads
put an interesting spin on de la Roche’s story, saying that much of her
autobiography is a fabrication. The film also explores her relationship with
her cousin/adopted sister Caroline. The two lived together in a “Boston
marriage” and Caroline often assisted Mazo in her writing, filling in the gaps
when Mazo’s poor health made it difficult to write. Their daughter also
testifies that Caroline often liked to fill out the documentation/records for
Mazo and herself, showing off her own knack for fiction by making things up. This
apparent gap created by the sketchy records and unreliable autobiography puts a
fun spin on the dramatic scenes of the film. The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche shows that all Canada really seems
to know about one of its early literary figures is her fiction.
The Mystery of Mazo de
la Roche screens with the short film The Fortune in the Throat (Dir.
Christina Muller, The Netherlands). The
Fortune in the Throat makes a good thematic partner to Mazo de la Roche as both tell of female artists struggling with
their career and personal life. Fortune
tells of a classically trained singer who achieved fame early in life; however,
she suffered a burn out on stage and her career ended as quickly as it began.
The film shows her work to reclaim her career by restaging her lost
performance. A strange, surreal tale, The
Fortune in the Throat is a visually striking fusing of past and present.
Ratings:
The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Fortune in the Throat: ★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche and The Fortune in the Throat screen again on Sunday, May 6th
at the Cumberland at 4:30 pm.
Radioman
(UK, 75 min.)
Dir. Mary Kerr
Radioman is a fun and surprising character study of one of the
hardest working men in the movies. Radioman is described as a fixture of New
York City. He bikes around the city with an array of shopping bags and a
portable radio strapped around his neck. Any tourist or passerby might take him
for a homeless man or an escapee from the nut house. Instead, Radioman is the
go-to guy for what’s happening on New York movie sets. He knows which movies
are filming where and who is on set at what time. He knows all the actors. He
even knows a director named Marty. Radioman loves the movies, he explains, and
the movies love him.
Although it’s a fairly rough
production otherwise, Radioman offers
a “who’s who” of Hollywood talent that describes their experiences with
Radioman on set. The film features an unprecedented number of A-listers in one
film. It includes interviews and sound-bites from stars like George Clooney,
Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Josh
Brolin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Gandolfini, and Johnny Depp. Virtually every
major Hollywood talent appears save for Brad and Angelina, but the film
mentions Radio’s appearance at the premiere of Changeling, so one can assume that he knows them, too.
In addition to frequenting the
sets out of interest and to get free lunch, Radioman has a roster of small
appearances in the films as a background actor. He has performed in films like The Bourne Supremacy and Wall Street 2, often as a homeless man;
he even has a speaking part in the Robert Pattinson film Remember Me and the occasional guest appearance on “30 Rock” as
Moonvest. He is so high in demand in the pictures that Martin Scorsese (the
aforementioned “Marty”) gives him a special part in Shutter Island for which Radio shaves off his signature beard.
As Radioman explains his love for
the movies and his struggle to find a role in the industry, Radioman offers a fun story of
rags-to-modest riches. Radio seems to have a difficult childhood and early
life: he was homeless and battled with alcoholism. Now, though, he has a small
place in Brooklyn and has been sober for fifteen years.
Although the film provides much of
Radioman’s backstory along with ample footage that testifies to his status and
novelty in the industry, it feels as if the film is holding back or is a bit
too shy to interrogate the subject. One segment of the film, for example, sees
Radioman rent a tuxedo and fly to Hollywood with hopes of attending the Oscars.
He doesn’t get in to all the events or parties, nor does he see many of his
celebrity friends. (He does, however, run into Cher.) But the film seems to be
missing something in its portrayal of Radioman’s perception of himself within
the industry. This quibble might be beside the point, since the film works well
as a celebratory behind the scenes look at one man’s role in the movies.
Rating: ★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Radioman screens again Wednesday, May 2nd
at the Bloor Hot Docs cinema at 11:45 pm and on Saturday, May 5th at
the Cumberland at 4:15.
For info, show times, and tickets please visit www.hotdocs.ca
***Note: star ratings will be assigned after the festival.
(So check back next week to see how these films rank!)
