by MATTHEW HAYS

"It all seemed supremely perverse," says Carly Pope, the Vancouver-based actress who stars in one of the central roles in Larry Kent's The Hamster Cage. This is her response when asked what she thought of the screenplay upon first read. "I just really wanted to be a part of it. It's rare when filmmakers really push the boundaries quite like that."

Quite like that, indeed. The Hamster Cage, in which Pope plays a nubile nymphomaniac, eager to please her sugar daddy at a strained family reunion, is one of the more talked-about entries at this year's World Film Festival, and with good reason. With his latest film, Canadian film pioneer Kent is definitely out to push some serious envelope, presenting a tale of a twisted family who has a veritable army of skeletons in the closet - all of which will emerge by final credit roll.

The film opens as a son (Tom Scholte) and daughter (Jillian Fargey) return to their upscale childhood residence in B.C. for a reunion with their mother, father and uncle. It seems that dear old dad (Alan Scarfe) is to be awarded a Nobel Prize for his extensive scientific theorizing. In your average, run-of-the-mill family, this would be cause for celebration, but the clan at the centre of The Hamster Cage is particularly messed up, to put it lightly - instead of festive tributes, there are revelations about incest and plenty of violence.

"For me, the challenge was to flesh out my character," says Pope. "She's the outsider coming in, she's not a part of this family. I had to ask: how manipulative is she? What does she want besides a sugar daddy?"

And Pope is unequivocal in her praise of Kent. "Larry is amazing, the perfect helmer. He really had this incredible vision, and we all got very drawn into it."

The breast is history

For Kent, it marks a return to feature filmmaking after a 13-year hiatus, a pause that seems far too long for the trailblazing Canadian independent director who is credited with showing the first naked breast in our nation's big-screen history. With films like The Bitter Ash, Sweet Substitute, High and Mothers and Daughters, Kent established himself as a cinematic force to be reckoned with, working with such notables as Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton and Cloris Leachman. The South African-born filmmaker began making films while at UBC in Vancouver, with The Street in '63. In fact, The Hamster Cage also operated as something of a Kent reunion: several of the actors he cast in this movie, including Scarfe, Patricia Dahlquist and Scott Hylands, all appeared in Kent's films from the '60s.

The making of The Hamster Cage is as much a success story as it is a cautionary tale to wannabe filmmakers. Clearly, the task doesn't always get easier, even with loads of experience and a hefty CV. Kent was looking for a writing partner a decade ago, so he placed an ad in the Mirror classifieds. Danny Williams, then completing his final year in the film program at Concordia, contacted Kent and the two began brainstorming and writing. Five years later, they wrote the screenplay for The Hamster Cage, inspired by the idea of a family burdened with secrets.

"In the bible, there's the idea of the sins of the father," says Kent of his initial inspiration. "I wanted to get at the idea that, as hard as families try, each generation will often repeat the same mistakes again and again. As much as we may try, we're probably doing much the same thing to our children as our ancestors living in caves did to theirs. It's an extreme view, but that's what this film is about: a family trying to cleanse itself."

Kindred surprise

Kent and Williams then decided on their stylistic approach. It's a complex one: while throwing all sorts of bent plot twists at the audience, and making many of them very heavy, the film would be comedic. "I wanted the audience to leave the film disturbed, but not depressed," explains Kent, of this careful distinction.

"It sounds odd, but as a model I looked at [Sam Peckinpah's landmark 1969 Western] The Wild Bunch. That film goes into so many absurd directions, but it held so strongly to the realism of the characters that the audience gets swept along with it. That's what I was aiming for - and I really didn't want the film to descend into high camp - I felt that would have been a real mistake."

The intersection of realistic acting styles with the undermining of the family melodrama - Kent effectively turns the genre on its head - creates an unusual tension throughout. "I didn't want to make a documentary. Frankly, I think there's more truth in fiction than in non-fiction filmmaking. Fiction allows us to get to a deeper, larger truth."

And while the screenplay was first penned five years ago, Kent points out that thematically - in a time when George W. Bush pushes the War in Iraq while talking about the sanctity of human life and family values - The Hamster Cage couldn't be more pertinent. "Hearing about family values all the time gets very, very tiresome. People seem to think families are these perfect, sacred things. Terrible things go on within families. It's ridiculous to try to deny that."

Pride vs. prejudice

Clearly, Kent is incredibly proud of The Hamster Cage: "I think this is the best movie I've ever done," he exclaims. But he also concedes that because of its themes, and their comedic treatment, the film could have a rocky reception. He has already experienced that sting: when he approached Montreal's Telefilm office, his application for funding was met with a frosty reception. But Telefilm's Vancouver office liked the screenplay and recognized Kent's impressive pedigree as a Canuck trailblazer, meaning Cage was ultimately shot in Vancouver.

As well, when Kent approached one of Montreal's most prominent publicists to promote The Hamster Cage during its World Film Fest debut, she declined, citing its disturbing content as the reason for not taking on the gig. "Am I worried? Absolutely! But I love the film, and I'm hoping that people will experience it on its own terms rather than judging it.

"If there's anywhere to launch a film like this one, I think it's Montreal. This is clearly the most open-minded city in the country. People will be seeing it soon enough, and we'll find out if they're going to come and kill me."

The Hamster Cage will have its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival, Aug. 26–Sept 5. For more info, visit www.ffm-montreal.org

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