Village Keeper (Canada, 2024)
Original title: Village Keeper
Director: Karen Chapman
Writer/Screenplay: Karen Chapman
Main cast: Oluniké Adeliyi, Maxine Simpson, Zahra Bentham, Oyin Oladejo, Ethan Burnett, Micah Mensah-Jatoe, Shiloh O’Reilly and Noah Zulfikar
Runtime: 83 minutes (1°23’)
Within the TIFF lineup of Canadian films, it’s always interesting to observe the small independent films, which tend to bring interesting themes or less conventional approaches. This film fits into the first category, which deals with the life of a black family after the murder of their father.
Jean (Oluniké Adeliyi) and her two children Tamika (Zahra Bentham) and Tristin (Micah Mensah-Jatoe) are living in the family's grandmother's house, in a supposedly quieter neighborhood, and have to deal with the consequences of their father's violent death. From Tamika having panic attacks that she can't control to the big argument between her mother and grandmother about them leaving that apartment, one can say that their coexistence is not calm. But as the film develops, we understand that in fact this is the most peaceful coexistence the family has ever had.
There is something that is rarely talked about: the peace that a family can find when a person who practiced abuse dies. It isn’t a pretty subject, but it’s real. And what Karen Chapman manages to do is bring this situation to the screen in a way that is still sensitive and much less melodramatic than one might imagine. This is because she focuses on the practical situation of that family, and not on the details of all the healing processes that they have to go through. She focuses on the complicity between the siblings, on Tamika's need to seek out a conversation with someone outside the situation, so as not to increase the amount of emotions that the family has to deal with. And on how to overcome all of this and return to being a family.
As a short break from the intense schedule of over-produced and sometimes narratively much more complex films, the film worked well, almost as a made to order breather. This is because, personally, I am a person who deals with a lot of trauma. And even though there are no particularly dark scenes in the film, that is precisely its main subject. Not a trauma presented with violent actions and dark or high-contrast scenes, but rather what happens after this passes and life needs to find its way to move on.
Thus, the film is far from the stereotype of a super production that is expected of Toronto, a city that is often used in films because it looks like New York and replaces it due to its lower filming costs. But it delves into a feeling that is both specific and universal to bring a message of comfort and continuity, but also without seeming inconsequential. A difficult balance, especially considering that this is the director's first feature film, and a certain promise of interesting works for her in the future.
Translated by: Renata Torres
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