An ode to ByTowne's Denis Tremblay, and a review of Sabah
T.S. Warren
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Arsinée Khanjian covers up her taboo relationship in Sabah
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SWEET ON SABAH Often assigned the heavy-lifting dramatic roles in husband Atom Egoyan's films, Arsinée Khanjian literally lets her hair down as the title character in Sabah, as sweet and satisfying a romantic comedy as you'll find anywhere this summer.
Shot in Toronto in 20 days, writer-director Ruba Nadda's movie leads us down a predictably bumpy cultural path when Sabah, a dutiful but modern-thinking 40-year-old Muslim woman who takes care of her widowed mother, finds herself attracted to a man after a towel mix-up at a swimming pool.
The scandal, should Sabah's Syrian family find out, is not just that Stephen (Shawn Doyle) is non-Muslim, but that the hijab-wearing Sabah has even been sneaking off to a public swimming pool. So begins Sabah's summer of deception as she listens to her heart while juggling the competing demands of her loving, spoiled, overbearing family.
Born in Montreal to an Arab family, Nadda vividly paints the rivalry, devotion and comic hypocrisy at play in Sabah's tight-knit clan where big brother Majid (Jeff Seymour) sets traditional rules for the womenfolk-including an arranged marriage for his rebellious 19-year-old niece-while he's taken a gorgeous non-Arab wife for himself. Then there's beautiful matriarch, Um Mouhammed (Setta Keshishian) who for a supposedly frail woman displays a hearty appetite for chips, popcorn, fries and buckets of KFC.
But the movie belongs to Khanjian, who manages to bloom in front of our eyes, transformed by love, but not so
much that she doesn't retain appealing traces of her nervous awkwardness and innate shyness. The Eleventh Hour's Doyle is suitably low-key as the easygoing Canuck carpenter Stephen whose idea of a lover's compliment is: "Oh man, they didn't have women like that in Sudbury!"Sabah's simple tale is enhanced by a pulsating Arabic music score and Luc Montpellier's crisp cinematography. Runs at The Bytowne to July 7.
PLAY IT AGAIN, DENNIS
Dennis Tremblay, the friendly, urbane media-arts guy who's been a mainstay of The ByTowne's eclectic programming and smooth operation for the last 20 years is moving on, but not without a parting shot for Ottawa film lovers: Dennisfest.
A film studies graduate, among other things, Tremblay has picked seven mood-drenched, visually exquisite films reflecting what he finds most exhilarating in cinema, namely the imaginative use of sound and image to tell a story.
"What can I say. Visual image, the way a director uses image, trumps narrative for me every time," says Tremblay, pointing to a ByTowne lobby poster of Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love which telegraphs the stifled desire between a man and a woman. "Just look at it ... that image already tells you everything you need to know about the movie."
Unspooling July 2 to 7, overlapping Tremblay's final week as general manager, the festival's intoxicating line-up comprises In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong), Morvern Callar (Scotland), Beau Travail (France), Distant (Turkey), The Flower of My Secret (Spain), Elephant (United States) and the one documentary in the pack, Errol Morris's Fast, Cheap and Out of Control. For some of these films, Dennisfest may well be the last opportunity to see them on the big screen, in ideal conditions.
Tremblay waxes passionately about each of his picks, noting for instance that he can't wait to revisit Lynne Ramsey's "refreshingly free of motivation" Morvern Callar.
Beginning as an usher at the old Towne Cinema on Wellington Street in 1985, Tremblay moved over to its successor The ByTowne where he's worn many hats, from programmer to bi-monthly guide editor and general manager, usually in combination.
Local media wags know him best as the witty guy who amiably presides over press screenings, quietly offering his own zinging critiques of what's on screen or in the video store. XPress will miss him and wishes him all the best.
| 20 Years: A Cinephile Leaves His Mark.......... |
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Dennis Tremblay had become the face and the name behind the The Bytowne Cinema, a name reminiscent of the old Ottawa, trivializations of what life used to be like here. Now, commercialization and Americanization are squeezing at both ends of life in Ottawa and other major cities in struggles to keep what belongs with our past and what we need to let go of.
The Bytowne Cinema, as many here in Ottawa know, is an institution that riles and thrusts a little different than what conventional theatre dictates. It's new home on Rideau Street (now several yrs later) is a breath of fresh air, steps away from the downtown core and a welcome symbol for travelling weary-heads, looking for a nice cool theatre where virtually anything may be playing in their definition of "cinema".
Tremblay will always be at the very core of the Bytowne's roots, his spirit entrenched in the philosophy and pedigree of what the theatre has become.
Their patrons are not conventional Hollywood entertainment fodder but instead, true cinephiles, prefering to settle down and watch a really good story unfold on the screen.
After all, film is about telling stories and the Bytowne selects films that do that, and do that well.
They are looking for a films that will create conversation, controvercy and delight. A Bytowne guest is treated to a night out where they will recall riveting and emotionally charged performances. As they leave on their drive home, they are comforted with the diverse entertainment they witnessed and fulfilled by the ambiance of the Bytowne Cinema.
I doubt that Tremblay will be far away, still keeping close to his home of 20 yrs. His willingness to stick with the Bytowne, through transition, evolution (of the standard movie theatre that has transformed regular cinema into Mega/Superplexes with 21 screens was vital.
Tremblay's shoes will be hard to fill. He has made the Bytowne what it is now.
Thank you for your vision Mr Tremblay.
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Steve Landry
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{18 votes}
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| Good selections for Dennisfest! |
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I am sorry to hear that Bytowne manager's is leaving for good, and happy to know that Dennisfest is on...
I am not quite sure selecting the movie "Elephant" was such a good idea for the Dennisfest. I have seen this movie few months ago, and I still don't quite know what to make of it, the movie is called "Elephant". It is the story of an average school day that ends in extremely tragic violence. To tell you the truth, little is done in explaining how a young man reaches this point of cold-blooded violence toward his schoolmate. I actually feel quite distant to this movie, and don't recommend it.
And, whether or not you have a chance to see In the Mood for Love, I would like to say that it is about sexual desire and some sort of values restraint, there isn't that much of a plot, but it is great cinematography, and extremely good acting. If you have a chance: go!
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Valerie Augier
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{6 votes}
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| Film Review 101/An ode to ByTowne's Dennis Tremblay, and a review of Sabah |
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Sorry but Dennis Tremblay is just going to have to wait for someone else to post a comment that sings his praises because between him and Arsinée Khanjian, she's the one that I feel compelled to wax poetic about. Most hardcore Canadian moviebuffs have seen Atom Egoyan's films enough times that that certain faces and certain actors are just known to them even if their names are lost in the ether. Arsinée Khanjian is one of those.
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She's often described as 'that chick from the Atom Egoyan movies' but if the buzz on this movie is at all accurate she may finally be establishing a persona beyond that label. Canada produces huge talent but it rarely gets recognized because it's rarely given a proper vehicle to shine it. Well, this is one such vehicle...hopefully the ride is worth the hype for all concerned.
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Pedro Eggers
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{3 votes}
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