Review of Stories We Tell (2012) by Ross M — 27 Sep 2013
This is going in my top 10 for this year no problem at all. I have to say that after watching this I wondered what the response would be if I made a documentary about my family. Interesting it would be.
... I think this is a very personal project for Sarah Polley. It starts as a way of finding out what her deceased mother was like and it takes a very different direction which is both unexpected for her and also for us the audience.
She's right about the title in that families do tell stories to each other about certain incidents that have occured in a given families history. I consider the film maker to be very fortunate in that her family seems to be very open to having different personalities in their family.
Not all families are so lucky. Or seem to get on so well either. I really like the way Sarah Polley tells the story of her search in a lot of different ways. She uses reenactment, interviews with brothers and sisters and family friends and she uses her father as the main centre of the whole film.
He narrates and we see him doing it as well. He's also interviewed. Sarah Polley is quite willing to let the film be whatever it wants to be. I admire that in her. What's also interesting is that each family member seems to remember the past differently.
This to me is a certainty when your dealing with individuals in any family. I must track down her other films asap.
This review of Stories We Tell (2012) was written by Ross M on 27 Sep 2013.
Stories We Tell has generally received very positive reviews.
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