Northern Light
Directed by David Lammer
Reviewed by Catherine MacLennan
At the Q&A after the screening of his film Northern Light (Langer Licht) at the Vancouver Film Festival, director (and screenwriter) David Lammer said his film depicts "how people listen to each other…or not." Northern Light's main characters, a father and son, are in conflict - Lucien, the father, is unrelentingly brutal towards his son, Mitchel. Mitchel protests, angrily, but gives up, retreating into silence or temporary relief from friends.
An amateur boxing coach, the Lucien barks out commands to children and teens in training. A couple of girls, seemingly uncomfortable with his attitude, quit to join another gym. In a constant rage, he appears to be heading toward depression and disintegration. There is a big confrontation with his son, in which Lucien strikes him in front of friends and relatives.
A reason for the father's behaviour is revealed: his wife and daughter were killed in a traffic accident. Tragedy does not necessarily lead to immediate wisdom; his grief has twisted him into angry person who takes it out on the world, and, specifically and tragically, his son.
Can such a situation be resolved? Could viewers stand a film where the father is cruel and lacking in insight throughout? Could viewers stomach a quick and easy reconciliation? Lammer tries to resolve the situation with a very small step. It helps that the viewer comes to the situation in its midst – by not having seen the characters before the tragedy and its aftermath, we do not know what they were like, or what they were capable of (or not capable of) in terms of human interaction, affection and understanding.
While pretty much a conventional narrative film, the film's emotional impact is heightened by a few scenes filmed at night – the son riding his bike with a friend, and, in another, riding alone in his own sad and silent rage. The darkening sky appears both at one with the son, dark and silent, and also visually isolates him, as he is isolated from home.
November 2006 - The Lamp