REVUE // FESTIVAL SHORTS
REVUE // FAKE GURU
Kumaré
EIFF
A
s the Edmonton International Film Festival heads into its final few days, it still has a sizeable smattering of films to be seen. Often neglected are the shorts programs, quicker, filmic bites that can still offer amplie yield to any viewer, and with that in mind, they make up the focus of our final few caps reviews. Reviews by Meaghan Baxter (MB) and Paul Blinov (PB). All screenings at City Centre Theatres.
The Borat of faith
Sun, Oct 7 – Wed, Oct 10 Directed by Vikram Ganghi Metro Cinema at the Garneau
S
ri Kumaré came to the USA from an Indian village so small it wasn't even on the map—any map, apparently. A yogi and meditation instructor, a pronouncer of clipped, chirpy, cryptic nuggets of maybesorta-wisdom, he immediately garnered a group of devout followers down in Arizona, some of whom were searching for something and found guidance in his words; some felt that meeting him was the greatest event of their lives. What those followers didn't know, apparently didn't even suspect, was that Sri Kumaré was really just some dude from Jersey named Vikram Gandhi, a young, urbane, collegeeducated, not very religious budding filmmaker who felt hugely skeptical of gurus, both Western and Eastern, and adopted the Kumaré persona as a wildly elaborate lark. The hardest part by far must have been learning yoga; otherwise he just grew
a big-ass beard, put on some robes, walked barefoot, carried a funny-looking stick, tried to listen a lot, appropriated his Indian grandmother's accent, chanted whatever came to mind (such as "Be All That You Can Be," that old slogan for US Army recruiters), made up his own yoga routines (including one seemingly inspired by Pete Townsend's windmill guitar moves), and concocted some generic mumbo-jumbo about a blue light—an image that a local yoga instructor took very much to heart, reshaping her entire practice around it. And that's where things got complicated. And where Gandhi's film about his hoax, simply titled Kumaré, gets more interesting than it initially seems, shifting away from a Boratlike impersonation stunt designed to send-up gullible Americans and changing into a deeply sympathetic examination of the varieties of spiritual hunger that linger in the modern psyche. The fact that so many folks—some of whom could be deemed as flaky, some simply young, some simply in a great deal of pain, some obviously intelligent, competent, social-
ized professionals—could project so much of their desires for guidance onto someone so utterly, almost transparently phony, becomes something greater than a sociological statistic to chuckle over while scanning the back of Harper's. Guilt-ridden and trying to make the best of an increasingly uncomfortable situation, Gandhi-as-Kumaré tries to boil down all of his teachings to the single notion of finding the guru within you. You'll have to watch Kumaré to see how it all works out, but I will tell you that the filmmakers seemed unprepared for everything that would transpire. Ultimately the coverage seems to be emphasizing the wrong themes, and there's a paucity of material that really interrogates Gandhi's own life and motivations and the more complicated, messy aftereffects of his experiment. Still, the film is captivating, often very funny and absolutely worth seeing for what it attempts to document: Gandhi's story is truly amazing, and the people he befriends along his path to anti-smugness are each fascinating in their own right. JOSEF BRAUN
// JOSEF@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Fri, Oct 5 (10 am) Shorts Smorg 1: Dramatic Directed by Various Three stars The collection of dramas contains a wide range of films. Each comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, but overall it is a strong grouping, with stories of love and life that will captivate and entertain. It's a mixed bag for plot as well as production values, which span from tastefully low-budget to Hollywood blockbuster caliber. A highlight of the program is The Grand Design by Australian director Samuel Bartlett. The film takes viewers on an intriguing ride speculating the effects of the grand design theory, a scientific theorum that essentially proves fate. Bartlett utilizes spilt-screen scenarios which culminate in a thrilling conclusion, leaving viewers to ponder where their own fate may take them. MB Fri, Oct 5 (12:30 pm) Shorts Smorg 2: Documentary Directed by Various Four stars Condensing the documentary form into shorts,
while putting a squeeze on the amount of exploration possible, certainly allows filmmakers to intrigue with punchy tidbits. Such is the case in this collection of shorts: the just-over-90-minute program is actually a marvelous scattering of gems. The hand-drawn imagery of Being Norma, which possesses the feel of a vintage National Film Board short—hand-drawn animation, fauxold tape damage on the image—and lets a handful of women discuss body image, is an intriguing play with form, but the highlight here is Unravel, a 14-minute look at a place in Panipat, India where old clothes from North America are shipped to be made back into yarn, and where the factory workers wonder why western people would get rid of clothes that barely seem worn. It gives a fascinating glimpse into a practice most people don't know about, and intrigues you to further think or investigate on your own. Which is exactly what most of these shorts accomplish. PB Fri, Oct 1 (Noon) Subway Lunchbox Shorts 5 Directed by Various Three stars From fantasy, to humour to a lesson in generosity, Subway Lunchbox Shorts 5 is a packed, mixed bag of films that play to viewers' emotions as well as imagination. As with any assortment, and some are stronger than others. At the weaker end of the spectrum is Gay in the Attic, a black and white short that tries its best to be humorous, but comes across as stereotypical. One the opposite side is A Finger, 2 Dots, Then Me directed by David and Daniel Holechek. The film is driven by a powerful poem, written and performed by beat poet Derrick Brown. The poem follows two lovers as one explains to the other how to find them in the cosmos after death. The compelling look at life, death and love is juxtaposed with moments of humour and captivating visuals, both from Brown's words and directed images. On the same playing field is Good Karma $1, a short documentary by Jason Berger about advertising guru Alex Bogusky, who began collecting signs from the homeless in exchange for a donation, and a lesson about life and generosity. MB
REVUE // TIME TRAVEL
Safety Not Guaranteed Sun, Oct 7 – Mon, Oct 15 Directed by Colin Trevorrow Metro Cinema at the Garneau
D
on't be confused by the title: there's nothing that isn't played very, very safe in this calculatedly quirky shaggy sci-fi/rom-com. It has its charms, Aubrey Plaza's deadpan and Mark Duplass's ear being two of them. The title in fact comes from a classified ad found in a 1997 issue of Backwoods Home, placed by someone who said they invented a time machine and wanted a travel companion. Sometime later one John Silveira confessed that he placed the ad as a way to find a girlfriend. The movie would probably work better if it were also about a guy who just wanted to find a girlfriend. Seattle staff writer Jeff (Jake Johnson) somehow scores clearance to "investi-
Think this thing can hit 88 MPH?
gate" said ad in nearby Ocean View, with several days expenses and two interns thrown in. (Anyone who's ever worked for an alt-weekly is by this point guffawing.) One of the interns is Darius (Plaza), our mopey, wise-cracking heroine. The other's your token South Asian tightassed computer nerd who can't talk to girls. Jeff, we quickly realize, contrived the assignment so he could hook up
VUEWEEKLY OCTOBER 4 – OCTOBER 10, 2012
with an old flame. And he does! And the racial stereotype hooks up with a sympathetic local girl and Darius hooks up with Duplass's kooky survivalist with the Loverboy haircut and the weird ear. Can Duplass really travel back in time in that hovercraft of his? Boilerplate shifty dudes in suits seem interested. JOSEF BRAUN
// JOSEF@VUEWEEKLY.COM
FILM 13