So last Saturday, I was feeling a tad masochistic. And lonely. And brave. Anywhoo, i was feeling mentally alert enough to watch back-to-back Winter's Bone and Diane Sawyer's docu on Children of Appalachia. I became interested in watching Winter's Bone, a darling at Sundance last year, after Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for an Oscar in 2011 (not a small feat for a 20-year old). The trouble with the Oscars, i find, is that they often highlight performances and forget others that are so worthy of being celebrated. Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant in her role but the real star, in my opinion is Teardrop, played by John Hawkes. Anyways, this is for another story. The point is, watch Winter's Bone. It's harsh, and raw and unforgiving. It shows a oft forgotten side of America. A side that nobody cares for. A side that should be cared for. The Ozarks are a mountain chain going from Southern Missouri through Arkansas. It's a wild terrain and houses a few courageous souls, mostly hunters or farmers- all on the cusp of poverty. They've been forgotten, like the wild animals that lurk in their woods. They live in trailers with nothing and the best source of income for them is to turn to drugs. In the community where the plot unfolds, meth is the drug of choice. It's a family affair, everyone is involved in the business and yet it is surrounded by a veil of secrecy and taboo. Ree Dolly is 17. She lives with a catatonic mother and has two younger siblings she has to care for. Her dad, a notoriously good meth cook, as once again disappeared following an imminent court appearance. To post bail, daddy of the year had to put his house on the line. If dad doesn't come home or make it to court, Ree will loose the house, a trailer in a state of swallor. Two options remain: find out dad alive or prove he's dead. The movie does run quite long-like a lot of indie movie does, in my opinion- but the story is worth watching. Call me prissy, but i tend to forget that in your own backyard, people live in unbearable conditions. It's not about what clothes they're going to buy, it's how are they going to survive. How are they going to fulfill their basic needs? How will they fight corruption? And most importantly, how will they stay alive while keeping their dignity? I think that the testatment of a good movie is whether or not it leaves a mark with you. If it makes you pounder, opens your mind to new situations or makes you question. After i watched Winter's Bone, i remember hearing about a documentary Diane Sawyer conducted in the Appalachia region, in Eastern Kentucky, where toothlessness, alcohol abuse and a lack of education are rampent. Enlightened by what i had just seen, i decided to give it a try. It almost seems to me that 'mountain people' have simply been forgotten. I was shocked by the fact that two of the young mothers interviewed looked AT LEAST 50 -both where in their 30's - and both were toothless. I'm talking NO TEETH at all. How did this happen? How did we let people in this country, in this continent, stay that way. Why aren't there more gouvernment initiatives in rural areas?
We become so comfortable in her own world, our own comfort that we fail to ask some real questions. We fail to open our minds to the reality of others. In Canada, in the States, on this continent, poverty is real. Drug addiction is real. Swallor and hunger are real. And the children are the ones who suffer. Sorry for the long diatribe but i just got really worked up. Perhaps it wasn't a fun Saturday. I didn't watch Say Anything (i did the next day). But it was somewhat mind opening. I still think about the movie. And that should deserve an Oscar category in and of itself. xox
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