(Canada, 86 min.)
Dir. Julia Kwan
Programme: Canadian Spectrum (World Premiere)
Condos are like bunny rabbits. They multiple at a rapid pace
and nibble away at their surroundings. The face of urban space is changing
dramatically in cities across Canada, so Julia Kwan’s beautiful look at the
transition of Vancouver’s Chinatown from cultural corridor to trendy hotspot
offers a study that is both specific and universal. Kwan, director of the 2005
Sundance prizewinner Eve and the Fire Horse,
makes her feature documentary debut with Everything
Will Be, but it feels like the work of a seasoned talent.
One can either embrace change or one can fear it, and Everything Will Be takes viewers on a
tour of Vancouver’s Chinatown and introduces them to a cast of residents who
reflect on the gentrification of their community with a mix of excitement
and trepidation. The film observes long-time residents, mostly shopkeepers,
including one ninety-year-old woman who vows to run her newspaper stand until
the day she dies. Mahjong tiles continue to flow, pork buns continue to steam, and
grocers continue to tell familiar patrons to pay the rest of their bill
"whenever they have the money." A unique character survives in the aged residents of
Chinatown as they continue to thrive in the ever-growing shadow of
gentrification. They can either watch Chinatown change or they change with it,
Kwan’s poetic observation seems to say, but embracing the new isn’t nearly as
easy as some of Chinatown’s newest residents believe.
The tension between the old and the new is perhaps best
expressed in a storyline that features a starving artist named Ken who
introduces the film to the one-month anniversary of his new Chinatown gallery.
Ken is one of the newer residents on the strip, but his eclectic art space
unites the old and the new of Chinatown by infusing old traditions with
hipstery twists like hanging a rubber duck in a birdcage outside the shop to
honour the practice of putting songbirds in the windows. There isn’t much
business coming Ken’s way, though, as the hilarious security guard who serves
as a conduit/tour guide for the audience observes while exploring some of
Ken’s funky work. The gallery is too trendy for the Chinatown veterans, but it’s too far off the
beaten track for arty yuppies. The gallery shows the awkward struggle of
bringing the new into a community with vibrant cultural heritage and rich
roots.
Seeing the artists flock to Chinatown—there are ample
galleries popping up between teashops and grocery stores—hints at the greater
cultural shift in the transition of the urban space. “Follow the artists and
prostitutes, and you’ll see where the city is moving,” says museum owner Bob
Rennie during a visit to Ken’s gallery. Bob is at the forefront of balancing Chinatown’s
transition, as Everything Will Be
shows him developing a remarkable museum that infuses the old with the new, as
he fashions a decidedly contemporary space within the walls of Chinatown’s
oldest building. Bob, however, shows a deep appreciation for the legacy of the
bygone Chinatown, as the exposed brick and collected artifacts within the walls
of the museum demonstrate how embracing change doesn’t necessitate a death of
tradition. “Everything is Going to Be Ok,” champions the neon light adorned
atop Bob’s museum, and the funky light enjoys a presence in Everything Will Be that is both ironic
and optimistic depending on the viewpoint(s) within which Kwan frames it.
The title itself derives from Bob’s ever-present signage,
but the abbreviation of the phrase, the removal of the affirmation, leaves it
up to viewers to decide whether one should embrace the changing cityscape. On
one hand, a tangible character thrives in Chinatown that one doesn’t find
anywhere else and it is present in every discussion with the elderly patrons
and in every cutaway to the meticulously detailed fixtures of the vacated
buildings. The cinematography by Patrick McLaughlin draws out the vibrancy of Chinatown
with deep reds and blacks, while Kwan and her team frame Chinatown amidst an
aggressive wall of high rises that rapidly encroaches upon this space. On the
other hand are residents like Free Lee who infuse new, hip practices with
notes of tradition. There is the possibility for something fresh and exciting
to be had amidst all this change. The condos need not represent a Northrop
Frye-ish hostile environment; perhaps they’re giving new life to this community.
Most surprising, though, is a candid moment with one of
Chinatown’s longstanding members, Olivia, who voices the futility of resisting
change. Olivia, who closes up her family teashop even though it was the first
in the city, remarks that legacy is ultimately a redundant concept. People come
and people go, so where one does one’s business is irrelevant. It’s ultimately
a question of how one conducts one’s business that Kwan seems to be getting at,
for the endurance of a character and of a communal spirit can make the transition worthwhile. This exquisitely shot and carefully crafted
film is both an ode to a bygone era and a forward-looking snapshot of a world
in transition.
Rating: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Everything Will Be
screens:
-Tues, Apr. 29 at 7:00 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox
-Wed, Apr. 30 at 1:00 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox
-Fri. May 2 at 1:00 PM at Hart House Theatre
Please visit www.hotdocs.ca for more information on this
year’s festival.
