Stories We Tell (2012)
Sarah Polley’s directorial work focuses on fractured relationships. Away from Her (2006) shows the effects of Alzheimer’s on a long-term commitment, Take This Waltz (2011) is about a young couple who experience a crisis, and her third feature film explores the brokenness in her own family.
Twenty years after her mother died, Polley discovered she was the child of an affair her mother had while acting in a play in Montreal.
Through interviews with the man she grew up thinking was her father, her siblings, her mother’s friends, and her biological father, Polley chronicles the effect this long-buried secret had on her family.
It’s a fascinating and painfully honest exploration of why we deceive the ones we love, how we try to protect them from the truth, and the ways we lie to ourselves to justify our actions.
Everyone involved has a slightly different idea of what happened and what it means, suggesting our family and the relationships we have with them is an extension of the personal narrative we’ve created for our lives.
The Grandmaster (2013)
Ip Man was a pivotal figure in twentieth century Chinese martial arts whose student, Bruce Lee, would popularize the sport in the United States in the 1970s.
There’s been an explosion of Ip Man related projects in the last half-decade. 2008 saw the first major attempt to dramatize his life, the Hong Kong film Ip Man, followed by a sequel in 2010 which focused on his relationship with Lee. In addition to The Grandmaster, 2013 saw the release of Ip Man: The Final Fight, and a TV series based on his life.
Set to the backdrop of war between China and Japan, this film features a division between southern martial arts territories led by Ip Man and those from north.
To many westerners, all martial arts run together. I don’t know the slightest difference between taekwondo and kung fu. Movies like this demonstrate how important the various styles of martial arts are to cultural identity in the Eastern world. Knowing and appreciating what is important to other cultures will go a long way to creating a much-needed atmosphere of cooperation and friendship.