HEARTS OF INNOVATION

Gemma Files - Eye Magazine

Showcased through the auspices of the Liaison Of Independent Filmmakers Of Toronto (LIFT), local director Steve Sanguedolce's latest short work AWAY, is built around one of the se wonderful "mockumentary" conceits that its screenwriter, fellow filmmaker Mike Hoolboom, specializes in.

It's an addictive mixture of fact, fiction and found footage, all whipped--through the twin magics of editing and dramatization--into a heady and hilarious brew that's half spoof, half epic.

The movie stars Sanguedolce "himself," as portrayed by independent Canadian film staple Earl Pastko (best known as the devilish Mr. Skin in Bruce McDonald's Highway 61), and chronicles his pursuit of a mythical estranged twin brother through the historic ruin of Francis Ford Coppola's monumental Joseph Conrad adaptation, Apocalypse Now.

This "plot twist" allows Sanguedolce to access images from both Coppola's own masterpiece and Hearts of Darkness, George Hickenlooper's documentary on its making--heavily intercut with personal home movies, both accurate and augmented. 

The original sections, which take place in a single room that stands in equally well for both Toronto and Thailand, co-stars Babs Chula (Valentine's Day) as a sexy female version of Dennis Hopper's drug-crazed Kurtz groupie; they play like some rabid fan's version of 1970s Hollywood Babylon, all sex, drugs and the disembodied off-camera voice of "Marlon Brando," philosophizing about farts and the inherent homo-eroticism of kickboxing.

But there's also a long, amazing sequence built around an appearance by Sanguedolce's actual father as a contestant on the Price Is Right--a familial curiosity piece, automatically raised by its inclusion here to the level of cinematic triumph and trauma.

It's a masterful effort, and one well worth seeking out--at a mere 60 minutes, one of the most original and amusing Canadian films I've seen all year.