SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! Canada has not too long ago been grappling with the darkish historical past of its Native residential faculty system. For greater than 100 years, they put greater than 150,000 First Nations youngsters into “reeducation camps,” usually via coercion or pressure. These youngsters had been separated from their households, denied their language and tradition, and generally sexually abused, experimented on, and malnourished. The enormity of this historical past is overwhelming, however writer-director Marie Clements’ Bones of Crows totally explores the entire gut-wrenching particulars in a multi-generational drama spanning the late 1800s to the current day.
The movie is centered round Aline Spears (Summer Testawich), a Cree woman ripped away from her household. Along together with her sister and brother, she’s positioned in a residential Catholic faculty. There she faces horrible abuse by the hands of monks and nuns, though since she has a musical reward, she is given particular piano tutoring. This results in Aline being paraded round as an “instance Indian,” though any respite she will get from the classes is, in time, destroyed as they flip right into a nightmare. First, we flash ahead to her as a younger lady (Grace Dove) serving within the Canadian army and finally beginning a household. Then we see her as an older lady (Carla-Rae), now a matriarch and elder, making an attempt to handle the Catholic Church on the topic.
While all this generational trauma can appear overwhelming, Bones of Crows takes its time, develops its characters, and exhibits them as full individuals, not simply victims. When one scene ends with one thing unspeakable, we regularly bounce in time to see one other space of non-public progress. Over time, an exquisite tapestry of household is woven collectively. Yes, they’re nonetheless coping with trauma via the generations, however there are additionally stunning moments of defiance, energy, and love.
“…Aline Spears, a Cree woman ripped away from her household.”
Clements is Métis, and the manufacturing is stuffed with individuals of Indigenous ancestry. As a consequence, we get a viewpoint that we’ve not often seen on display and that we’ve been desperately missing. Think concerning the numerous Westerns presenting the native individuals of the Americas as savages. Even the best-known intergenerational epic, the Godfather trilogy, is from a male and Catholic viewpoint. These views are so totally ingrained into our moviegoing expertise that they type a part of the language of cinema. When we see Catholics, we count on forgiveness and redemption to be main themes. So when somebody comes together with a brand new language, it’s exhilarating. Not solely will we get a narrative unbounded by previous tropes, however we additionally get a brand new method of regarding the world.
The appearing in Bones of Crows is excellent all through, however I wish to particularly name out the trio of Summer Testawich, Grace Dove, and Carla-Rae, who take us via Aline’s journey seamlessly. First, it’s at all times nice to see a baby give an important efficiency, one thing little doubt made all of the harder by the robust material concerned. Dove carries the center journey, bringing hope and grit within the face of adversity. Finally, Carla-Rae brings quiet dignity and dedication. I’m a sucker for movies taking a look at an entire life story, and this nails it.
If there’s one factor that the theatrical model of Bones of Crows suffers from, it’s that there’s simply a lot story to inform. Some characters are solely seen briefly, and we sense there could possibly be a deeper backstory. In specific, the individuals on the Catholic Church aspect are fairly one-dimensional. We get a way of one thing maybe aside from pure evil in a single nun, however the glimpse is fleeting and incomplete. Still, this isn’t their story, and humanizing your oppressor is on no account a essential and even fascinating a part of this story.
The excellent news is that Bones of Crows will even be a miniseries from the Candian Broadcasting Company. I sit up for what Clements and firm can do with an much more expansive canvas.
Bones of Crows screened on the Toronto International Film Festival and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
