Title: Falls Around Her
Year: 2018
Country: Canada
Language: English
Director and Writer: Darlene Naponse
Awards Tantoo Cardinal:
This film begins with a world famous First Nations Anishinaabe singer named Mary Birchbark getting ready to go on stage. Mary is played by a well-known musician and actress, Tantoo Cardinal also known for her roles in” Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Dances with Wolves”. She is a member of the order of Canada.
Mary has decided to stop touring, and this is her last gig. She leaves the stage before her tour manager Keith can congratulate her. He is angry as she has decided to stop touring midway through the tour. She is determined to return to her roots, and the cabin that her grandmother built in area called Atikameksheng Anishinabek, White Fish Lake First Nation, Ontario, Canada.
It is difficult at first to understand why she has given up the limelight, but once you see the forest and lakes and beautiful streams and the village you begin to understand why she wants to live in a more serene setting away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.
The film, runs at a deliberate slow pace, while she wanders in the woods and her surroundings appreciating the snow and the mountain peaks, the evening stillness and the starry hemisphere, more like a travelogue. In between she fixes up the cabin and meets her sister Betty, who persuades Mary, to reluctantly visit old friends in the village, and do some shopping and return to places that have never changed.
However, you can feel that she has demons about her past and wants to be isolated in the cabin with no telephone and few visitors. She does occasionally accept a visit from Albert who is a well-known supporter of youth programs and helps the community but stays aloof. At one point she calls her manager who has been trying to contact her, from a hotel in town, and flatly refuses to go back to the tour.
Her guitarist Hal shows up and she is glad to see him and he stays for several nights as if they have done this before. Shortly afterwards Her manager Keith tracks her down and violently accosts her and takes some possessions that obviously are his. She manages to escape and has taken precautions as she had a premonition of what might happen when she notices footsteps around the cabin, and discovers a blue dress left on her bed while she is out of the cabin.
The film does have bits of humour and interesting discussions with her sister amid the silence and scenery, and Mary does get involved in a protest about mining in the area that is poisoning the water. However, the main drama is about the attack and violence from her manager and her escape. The film ends with the realization that while she is happy to have found her roots, it will take some time to forget her demons and be at peace.
