Wildhood (2021 | Canada | 108 minutes | Bretten Hannam (Mi’kmaw))
The overriding objective of Brettan Hannam’s film of self-discovery is conveying the multifaceted diversity of the Mi’kma’ki people and territory in Nova Scotia. While the plot armature to support that ambition is veers between melodramatic and creaky, it does succeed in presenting a rich array of compelling images and communicating heartfelt feelings.
When we meet Lincoln (Phillip Lewitski), a Mi’kmaw teenager, he’s dying his hair blond. The new color flatters his angular face and shredded body, but his motivation is presumably to better fit in with his little brother and the perpetually drunk, angry, and violent father who torments them both. A run-in with law enforcement brings an already tense relationship to a breaking point, during which Link discovers that the mother who abandoned him might still be alive, grabs his little brother, sets his dad’s truck on fire, and sets off on an ill-conceived adventure to find her. Luckily, because the plot demands it, they soon run across Pasmay, another wayward teen (Joshua Odjick) who’s much more attuned to his heritage and native community. Some combination of immediate attraction, family dynamics, and lack of other compelling obligations leads him to drop everything and help the wayward brothers on their quest.
Lacking anything resembling a plan, they embark on what the film’s website describes as a Two-Spirit odyssey, which brings them in contact with people and places that highlight the rich culture and territory. The images celebrate the breadth of the natural world — beaches, wild fields, deep woods, waterfalls — as well as the human-created spaces of belong like rehab facilities, community centers, and drag bars. Hannam finds beauty in these spaces as well as the mounting sensuality as the teens’ uncertain romance blooms on the road. The quest for representation may occasionally feels like the film is trying to fit too much into what could have been a focused romance, but it’s an impulse of generosity that will reward receptive audiences.
Wildhood screens as part of SIFF’s Official Competition; it plays on Saturday April 23 (5:30 pm) and Sunday April 24 (2:30 pm) and can be streamed online by Washington State residents through the duration of the festival.
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