Indie Review: Stories We Tell (2013)

                                     

                             
            'Stories We Tell' Uses Real-Life To Define The Meaning of Cinema
 
               Just so you guys know, I rarely ever put the words "phenomenal" and "documentary" in the same sentence because I rarely ever watch documentaries. That is until I saw Stories We Tell. 

     Story:
     Stories We Tell is about the director Sarah Polley and how she uses the pursuit of answers about her past and her family through a series of interviews with family and friends as well as old home movies.

      Ups:
    Interestingly, I can't really convey what I loved about it. Partially because I don't want to give too much away and also because I can't figure it out myself. Yet, I loved that. But I'll say that the beauty of it all is the film's simplicity. It was amazing how Sarah Polley used her own family history to demonstrate how the ordinary  tales of our lives may not seem so ordinary. Like for example, we see the interview subjects talk in great detail about Sarah’s mother and the impact she had on their lives with her energy as well as her mystique. We see that through how those around her describe her as well as through the super 8 home movies she is filmed in.

   Downs:
   NIL.

   Consensus:
   Overall, Stories We Tell is a meticulously crafted documentary that leaves me with no words to describe it and shows how the stories we do tell are shown in both words and visuals. It is not just a film or a documentary, but it is also an experience that uses a simplistic family story to tell the story about all of us. This one, my friends, is what true cinema is about: One that has us asking questions and thinking about our own world and the world around us.

   Would I Recommend It?:
   Absolutely! As soon as you are done reading this review, find it and watch it anyway you can.

Grade: A+