(Canada, 36 min.)
Written and directed by Jeffrey St. Jules
Starring: Sean McCann, Diana Leblanc, Pierre Simpson, Colombe Demers
 |
| Photo from the production. Courtesy of the NFB |
Let the Daylight into
the Swamp seems like it would make for a great double bill with Sarah
Polley’s Stories We Tell. (I haven’t
seen Stories yet, so I’m basing this
assessment on clips, buzz, and articles.) Let
the Daylight into the Swamp is an outstanding meta-documentary, which, like
Polley’s film, was produced by Anita Lee of the National Film Board of Canada. Swamp also sees one filmmaker, Jeffrey
St. Jules in the case, intuitively probe his own family history.
In the three films – entitled
“Mythology,” “Memory,” and “Documentary” – St. Jules assembles an impressive
self-reflexive odyssey by interrogating the concept of the family. The film
begins with a collage of old photographs and archival material that is blended
in a Guy Maddin- ish pastiche of dramatic re-enactments. St. Jules reconstructs
the story of his grandparents, who began in a small logging town – where all
Canadian families began, the film playfully suggests – and they started as a
happy but slightly unconventional couple. However, as the family moved to Kapuskasing,
and Mr. and Mrs. St. Jules grew colder towards their roles as parents, the
family soon dissolved when St. Jules’ grandparents went their separate ways and
sent their kids to live with an aunt.
Along with the second hand stories and old photographs with
which St. Jules constructs his scenes, Let
the Daylight into the Swamp features some interviews with “Donal” and
“Hélène”, two convincing surrogates for the grandparents, played by Sean McCann
and Diana Leblanc, respectively. The “grandparents” reflect on how alcoholism,
work, and other priorities lead them to give up their children. St. Jules
furthers this sense of biography and uses old photographs, which allegedly tell
the true story, to construct a sense of the consequences of the difficult
decision made by Donal and Hélène. Additionally, animated snowflakes fill the
distance between the family members; they also add a hint of constructedness to
all the stories they tell.
In the final act of the film, St. Jules extends his query to
other families and has strangers recall their own experiences of giving up
their children. As frank and as poignant as the first two thirds are, the
latter act of the film does an excellent job of extending the filmmaker’s
personal history into a collective release by using the different stories to
brighten the murky swamp of family history. Some of the most sincere comments
in the film come from subjects who candidly explain that they made the right
decision in leaving their children. Through the impressive mix of documentary,
drama, and animation, Let the Daylight
into the Swamp leaves viewers thinking about the consequences of such
decisions, and it should ultimately have them reflecting upon – and questioning
– their own family history.
Rating: ★★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Let the Daylight into the Swamp plays in Short Cuts Canada
Programme #5, which screens Wednesday, September 12 at TIFF Bell Lightbox at 6
pm and Thursday, September 13 at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4 at 2 pm.
Also reviewed from the Short Cuts Canada Programme are Frost, Dear Scavengers, Asian Gangs, and Bydlo.
For more info please visit its www.tiff.net.
The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs September 6-16.
