Anyone Not Watching Angela’s Shadow at the Vancouver Film Festival Are Missing Out!

Remaining Screenings: Oct 05 International Village 8 By saying Angela’s Shadow is the perfect ghost story, I hope the expectations generated are not too much. That’s because this tale looking at aboriginal life effectively portrays spirits as only vengeful when they must. Although that was not Jules Koostachin’s intent when she wrote the screenplay with Steve Neufeld, the way her direction brought out the supernatural is just beautifully executed. These entities are not inherently evil but matter-of-fact entities who sometimes want to be noticed. But what this story is concerned about is the living, and how this character (Sera-Lys McArthur) wants to return to her roots. She was stolen by white men who believed indoctrinating indigenous youths to their society was important. Nearly a decade or two later, she’s a well-to-do socialite who has forgotten her past. When her family writes to say please come home, she wasn’t going to say no. Something has awakened in her. Her husband, Henry (Matthew Kevin Anderson), agrees to join her, and as a journalist, thinks there’s a feature story. His publisher agrees to the pitch, and he’s allowed to go experience life at the reserve. What’s shown brings life to the idiom, “Roughing it.” Although this story is not meant to be scary, all the tropes I knew from many horror films are there. To watch how Angela reconciles with her past is important. That also includes learning how her sister died. As for watching how Henry can survive this world, it’s rather pitiful since he can’t cope and believes his faith will save him. And regarding how the spirit world manifests, that’s something no  fragile mind can process in the way this film presents it. Back then, very few individuals practised Spiritualism or even knew the word. Anderson’s descent to madness is wonderfully comparable to how Sir Thomas Sharpe in Crimson Peak succumbed to his mental illness. As the haunting builds in its intensity, so does this character’s mania increase. It’s even there when he’s talking to a local priest, who is native. Through him, we get to see how he survived the system (i.e. residential school) but when the haunting reaches him, he’s even challenged to question everything! The ultimate question really concerns if this Christian God whom everyone is taught to embrace a path to peace? Here, my guess the teachings are more Old Testament than New. Ultimately, the question of who is right and who gets the last laugh is perfectly executed. In this film, to understand where the truth lays, and to honour the spirits is represented in the best way possible. And I want more! The good news is that this work is part of a trilogy about the Cree world (as reported by MSN), and I’ll have to figure out what the first film is about, and be anxiously waiting for the third! 5 Stars out of 5

Angela’s Shadow Trailer