Stories We Tell

"Beautifully told. Such a good film that shows the complex dynamics of familial relationships "

"Beautiful documentary!"

"+ STORIES WE TELL is one of my favorite documentaries, and one of my favorite movies period. It starts out following Polley's investigation into the clues as to who her deceased mother was (having died of cancer the week of Polley's 11th birthday), what her desires and ambitions were, and how she dealt with friends and family. The movie's scope expands into questions about an ongoing joke about how Polley's father, Michael, might not be her biological father, until it becomes a meditation on how we try to understand the truth about who we are by investigating the stories we tell, the ones we believe, and the ones that are closer to the truth. Polley adds a nice touch to this theme by having her father narrate letters he wrote to her in response to the questions of her mother, their marriage, and his feelings towards Sarah. This is somewhat of a meta documentary by blending fake footage shot in the style of super 8 film with actual old footage taken at that time to give a sense of continuity and narrative flow. It's funny, heartbreaking, intellectually provocative, and carries an air of mystery that can never be fully understood with our limited thinking minds. It's for the mind, yes, but it's food primarily for the heart. It interrogates the limited, foundational ways we view perspectives that make us feel safe, then aims to break them, not necessarily to create new ground, but to help us face the emphemeral nature of our lives and how much of it we are actually equipped to understand. Polley is one of the most intelligent, original filmmakers out there, having acted in many movies and directed another one of my favorites, AWAY FROM HER. Here she creates a compelling narrative and then pulls the rug out from beneath our understanding with grace and vision. She could have settled for the scandalous, but instead aimed for something higher and much more meaningful. I can't praise this film enough and there will be no 'cons' section to this review."

"I had to watch this for a college event so it's definitely not something that I would have picked out for myself, but I definitely enjoyed it! I love the way the story built up on itself and I really enjoyed looking for the discrepancies between each person's recount of the story. This has actually gotten me on a documentary kick, so I'm happy to have watched it!"