'Sugarcane' is a damning portrayal of the legacy of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools- and one of the best documentaries of the year
Plus: 'Daughters' finds humanity behind bars
The documentary Sugarcane, directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is valuable both in telling a meaningful, tragic tale and in telling it very well. It creates a fantastic sense of place and tells its story with tension and beautiful cinematography. It’s never a lecture from talking heads but rather an outstanding feat of storytelling. This is one of the best documentaries of the year.
The film looks into the history of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools system, where First Nations people were taken and abused in various terrible forms — from assimilation to sexual abuse and, in some cases, death — for much of the 20th century and into the 21st. St. Joseph’s Mission, the school that’s the focus of this film, lasted until 1981.
Different churches ran the schools, although the film focuses on a specific Catholic school in British Columbia where unmarked graves were recently discovered, among several other places in Canada.
The film depicts an investigation into these crimes by tribal members Willie Sellars, Charlene Belleau, and Whitney Spearing. It’s also a portrait of those who suffered- including the father of one of the directors, as well as a chief of the tribe who discovered, via a DNA kit, that his father was an abusive priest.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a film that makes the Catholic Church look worse, and that’s saying something- I’m including Spotlight, every documentary about abusive priests, and all the hundreds of horror movies based on Catholic iconography. Although Pope Francis, to his credit, is shown apologizing.
This is heavy stuff, but the filmmakers successfully evoke this part of British Columbia with gorgeous cinematography.
A National Geographic Documentary Films project, Sugarcane won awards at Sundance in January and hits theaters this Friday; I expect it will eventually find a streaming home on Hulu, Disney+, or both, although I’m not sure when.
Daughters
Also this week, on Netflix, is another Sundance prize winner, Daughters. Directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, it tells the story of a unique program that allows incarcerated men in Washington to visit with their daughters, including a special Daddy-Daughter Dance.
Filmed over eight years, the documentary charts four families in which the daughters are clearly affected by their father's absence. It’s illuminating but often heartbreaking, in the tradition of Garrett Bradley’s Time a few years ago.
Between Daughters and Sing Sing, it’s a big week for movies about finding compassion for incarcerated men.
Daughters is streaming on Netflix now.