ALFF Program - Sisters&Brothers

Monday, February 6 at 9:00pm

Dir. Carl Bessai
British Columbia, 2011, 93 minutes

Carl Bessai’s raucous, poignant feature is the latest in his series of collaboratively written comedies on the theme of family. Like Mothers&Daughters (2008) and Fathers&Sons (2010), the film is not just executed but also conceived with the participation of its actors. The result, once again, is a naturalistic, very funny and very recognizable portrait of contemporary life. The story jumps between four sibling pairs and takes in schizophrenia, movie stardom, artistic ambition, poverty, racial divides and much, much more.

There isn’t a false moment in the film—the speech patterns, subtle shifts of expression, wary silences and explosions of anger all ring perfectly true, exposing the characters’ vulnerability and passing it on to the viewer. This is perhaps the richest, most disturbing kind of comedy: that which grows out of realism. The laughs and the anguish gain in power from being mashed together; in this movie they both come from the same place. Every character is sketched with perfect economy, from the stars to the peripheral characters. Highlights include Dustin Milligan as the globetrotting, altruistic brother of a Hollywood idol, with his resentment simmering beneath half-ironic cheers, and Tom Scholte as the wannabe-entrepreneur from Fathers&Sons, radiating desperate, phony bravado. But everyone is great—this is ensemble filmmaking at its finest.
-Vancouver International Film Festival

Screening sponsor: Sequoia Kitchens & Design