Setting the scene with a sad slice of history, Rhymes for Young Ghouls opens with text explaining Canadian laws throughout much of the 20th century. Via government intervention, all children of native descent aged between five and sixteen were required to attend specific residential schools. Enforcement was tasked on truant officers able to imprison parents and guardians for non-compliance.
On the fictional Red Crow Mi’gMaq reservation in 1976, teenager Alia (Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, TV’s Mohawk Girls) avoids such a fate by working in her uncle’s (Brandon Oakes, Arctic Air) drug trade. Much to the dismay of her just-out-of-prison father (Glen Gould, Cashing In), she uses her earnings to bribe the agent (Mark Antony Krupa, White House Down) who holds her fate in his hands. A tragic childhood has made her wise beyond her years, and eager for a different life. A stubborn, street-smart streak sees her do whatever it takes to survive.
Making his feature debut after short films From Cherry English, The Colony and File Under Miscellaneous, writer/director Jeff Barnaby takes the mythic approach to a coming of age tale steeped in tradition, trespasses and the spirit of perseverance that seeks a way forward. Rhymes for Young Ghouls springs from the reality behind the story it tells, but filters everything through supernatural leanings and an age-appropriate viewpoint. Unmistakable is the film’s intensity that flits between the endearing and unsettling, endeavouring to inform, entertain, and engage all in one assertive and impassioned, adventurous and emotional package.
It is fitting that plans for a heist form the crux of the feature as Alia plots to break into the very place she has striven to avoid to secure her freedom, the symbolism of her act of defiance always evident. The entire film is a raid for revenge, reappropriating a chequered past to furnish a determined hero able to overcome its stifling effects. There is little subtlety within the narrative, or in the depiction of the institution and its staff as purveyors of evil and perpetrators of unhappiness. Yet, a wealth of consideration is apparent in the broader world of its protagonist, from Alia’s struggles with grief to her attempts to find a way to escape the trappings of her home without relinquishing her identity.
That the displays of the ghoulishness of the title feel nuanced in contrast is similarly suitable; though a fable complete with animal masks, chats with ghosts and animated legends, the worst of its horrors are plucked from actuality. The film garners much of its strength from mixing its unabashed statement with cultural sensitivity and its many surrealist flourishes. In doing so, Barnaby shows significant style and visual skills that perfect the balance, with an eye for aesthetics that matches his storytelling in its inventiveness and willingness to take risks.
Placed in the middle is Jacobs, an expressive lead with the tenacity to convey her character’s fight against injustice and the tenderness to show her layers of uncertainty. Hers is the most rounded role, as well as the most crucial, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of her central portrayal. Surrounded by competent co-stars meeting the prescribed parameters of their parts, she gives the film heart and heft. Rhymes for Young Ghouls doesn’t belong to its star as much as its content; however the film benefits as much from a personal touch in presentation and performance as it does from its filmmaking ambition.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Rhymes for Young Ghouls
Director: Jeff Barnaby
Canada, 2013, 88 mins
Distributor: eOne
Classification: TBC
At ACMI from 5 – 13 July
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