The Film Festival presents The Edge of the Knife

I went out to IMDB for a short synopsis of the film Rebecca and I saw tonight.  The film was The Edge of the Knife (2018).  It also has the title SGaawaay K'uuna.

 In a 19th-century summer, two large families gather for their annual fishing retreat on the far-removed island of Haida Gwaii. Adiits'ii, a charming nobleman, accidentally causes the death of his best friend Kwa's son and hastens into the wilderness. Adiits'ii is tormented by what he has done and spirals into insanity, becoming Gaagiixid, a supernatural being crazed by hunger. He unexpectedly survives the winter, and at next year's gathering, the families try to convert Gaagiixid back to Adiitst'ii.

I hadn't read the synopsis and didn't really know what I was going to watch.  Just that Rebecca knows the director, Gwaai Edenshaw and that this was the first film ever, where the language is Haidaa.  On the way home I told Rebecca that I had the feeling that I had been to Haida Gwaii.  She laughed at me and said, yes you have been there.  That is where the film is set.

Adiits'ii

Then I remembered about 10 years ago, I really wanted to go there for a trip.  I called to find out how much the flight would cost, how much for the accommodation and then I did some research to see what I would experience when I was there.   I didn't go through with my little plan, the cost of which was going to be like the usual costs of going to the North:  shocking.  The film is well worth the $15 we had to pay -- $2 of which was to the Film Society, which the city of Victoria makes anyone pay who wants to see a film that hasn't gone through the film board yet.

On the way home we discussed the themes of depression, darkness, death, how a community grieves, and how members are included back in the community, .

I am not writing this to keep people away from the film which one might suspect from what I have written so far.

Here are some pluses:

1. You will see the first film ever shot using the native language of Haida
2. I never lean over and speak to the person who I am with in a movie.  I did lean over once and say to Rebecca, did you ever see such a shot.  SometimesI just had the feeling that I was walking the trail from our place back into Sicamous, or that I was out in Arbutus Cove here in Victoria and jumping from rock to rock.
3. I don't recommend the movie for anyone who wants action-packed thriller shots.  But if you want to experience going up to Haida Gwaai, this is the movie for you.  Lots of beautiful pan shots of the forest.  And I had a good afternoon nap, so I was ready for a quieter, more thoughtful story.  I am giving this show 5 stars since it is a trip into an Indigenous world view for us through their own voices.
4. On the way home Rebecca was wondering if Eric would like the film -- the pan-psychiatry in it.  There is something in the film for everyone.

We went out and also watched a 10 minute Q&A from the TIFF featuring the director and some of the actors.

As Catherine told me, I should keep blogging about my adventures. It is one way for me I know I am still alive.

Arta