Rhymes for Young
Ghouls
(Canada, 90 min.)
Written and directed by Jeff Barnaby
Starring: Devery Jacobs, Glen Gould, Brandon Oakes, Roseanne
Supernault, Mark Antony Krupa
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Photo courtesy of the Canadian Film Centre |
It’s 1976 on Red Crow M’igMaq Reservation. The Indian Act
has hit its 100th anniversary and, as the title cards state in the
opening of Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for
Young Ghouls, Her Majesty’s Government insists that every Indian child under
the age of 16 must attend residential school. 1976 also marks the 15th year
of a young woman named Alia, played by revelatory newcomer Devery Jacobs. Alia
has less than a year to go until she can finally live outside the shadow of the
rez, for she has been fortunate to escape the school by running drugs for her
uncle Burner (Brandon Oakes) in order to pay off the school’s nasty Indian
Agent, Popper (Mark Antony Krupa).
Rhymes for Young
Ghouls doesn’t shy away from showing the violence and suffering that has
been the legacy of the residential schools. Life on Red Crow is tough for Alia
as it’s a daily struggle of working to evade admission in the schools while
growing up in a home that affords little care and stability. The people in Alia’s
community, survivors of the schools, spend the nights getting fucked up on cheap
booze and drugs to numb the lingering pain.
The spirit of a strong people remains in Alia, who braves
Popper, gets even with the rez, and releases the ghosts of the past so that the
healing may begin. Barnaby and Jacobs create a powerful and compelling lead in
Alia. Reminiscent of a stoic young a heroine of an Eden Robinson tale, Alia is
wise beyond her years thanks the fire of her people that she carries within her.
She is a strong female warrior, a mother for the next generation who has the resilience
to express her anger as she refuses to remain a victim. Barnaby invests the
film with folklore to fuel Alia’s quest, most notably an effective fable told
to Alia by an elder that tells of a beast that consumes itself for pure
self-pleasure. The fable, rendered in stunning and haunting animation, offers
an accessible parable about the greater implications of surviving a cultural
genocide that underlies Alia’s quest.
Rhymes for Young
Ghouls feels like a landmark Canadian film as Alia chooses between running
and fighting back. Gritty and proudly badass, Rhymes for Young Ghouls has an air of supernatural realism as
Barnaby creates a setting that feels almost like a horror tale as the people of
Red Crow live the ghosts of the residential school. Production efforts are top
notch, most notably the cinematography by Michel St. Martin, the editing by
Barnaby himself and the film’s heart-pumping soundtrack, as Rhymes for Young Ghouls forges a voice
of its own. Rhymes has echoes of Trainspotting and overtones of Rebelle as Alia witnesses the substance
abuse and violence that go hand in hand, but remains a strong perseverant young
warrior to begin the healing. The film almost defies classification with the
tone, energy, and atmosphere the team creates. It’s brutal and frank, but also
darkly funny and wickedly entertaining. It’s about time a film took such a tone
to bring the story of the lateral violence of the residential schools to the
screen.
The film honours the First Nations people that have been
victims of the schools by offering some troubling flashbacks that reveal the
days in which Alia’s father, Joseph, withstood gratuitous abuse and violence.
The elder Joseph is portrayed by Glen Gould, whose performance is as powerful
as Jacobs’ is. (The cast is quite strong overall.) Most powerful in Rhymes for Young Ghouls, however, are
the images of the ghosts that walk the halls of the school and the forest that
surrounds it. When Barnaby finally takes the audience inside the school, Rhymes for Young Ghouls allows the
audience to feel an utterly dehumanizing experience that needs few words to
convey. The finale is uplifting, though, and a sign of hope to come as the nightmare finally comes to an end.
Rating: ★★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Rating: ★★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)