The Unrejectables: Review of the Salon des Refuses

Shannon Brownlee - Liaison  of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto Newsletter

October 2000

Amongst the few exceptions to the focus on female experience, the most notable was Steve Sanguedolce's SMACK, an intense transfixing canvas of hand processing and toning, accompanied by the subtle, sometimes gruesome, sometimes entertaining monologues of three brothers coping with various aspects of drug addiction. The film's psychological insights present an almost cannibalistic vision of family love in the interplay of hostility and loyalty amongst the brothers. The images work with the monologues to counterpoint, illustrate and complement the words by turns, lending a deep sensibility to the brothers' machismo. At times the adventurous toning and texturing techniques seem to strip their thick hides away, revealing a scarred frenzy beneath the skin.