I have few pet peeves greater than approaching the experimental with disdain because “it doesn’t make sense,” or “I didn’t get it.” There’s a necessary approach to avant-garde cinema that emphasizes being open to what the film is doing, and often, solving it simply just means experiencing it.
Thus, I’m straining to sift through my feelings on Levers – the sophomore feature from Ste. Anne director Rhayane Vermette – to ensure that my trepidations aren’t simply a result of not understanding what the film was trying to do. I think I get it, I think I just fundamentally disagree with it. That’s a frustrating feeling, because my reaction is therefore more visceral than it should be. Really, I think it boils down to the fact that I have a different brand of hope than the filmmakers do.
Levers’ plot is immensely loose. More improvisations than narratively taught, the film centers around a day in 1982 wherein the Sun simply does not rise. Thus, the film’s amalgamation of characters are forced to work together to bravely traverse the unknown. The conceit of the film means that large chunks of the film are severely under lit, going so far to purely be unexposed film stock in spots. The lack of light help contributes to some of my confusion, as it frequently became difficult to discern what was actually happening on screen. Vermette remains a singular voice in Canadian avant-garde cinema, and there is something here, even if it isn’t directly for me.
Image Credit: Courtesy of TIFF
- Directed by: Rhayne Vermette
- Starring: Andrina Turenne, Val Vint, Will George
- Produced by: Charlene Moore, Oliver Darrius Merrick King, Rhayne Vermette
- Written by: Rhayne Vermette
