Head trip

>>Local director François Miron’s The 4th Life
is a compelling, hallucinogenic thriller

by MALCOLM FRASER

François Miron has been a fixture on the local experimental film scene for years with his dark, hallucinatory shorts; he also recently won a Juno for his photography on the Arcade Fire’s last album. His first feature, The 4th Life, opens with two topless women making out, always a reliable attention-getter.

Soon, two parallel plotlines are set in motion. Marie (Janet Lane, recently notable in Le Piège américain) leaves her husband (Joseph Bellerose) to mind their antique shop, and heads for a mysterious town called Darkeville in search of a score that will solve their financial troubles. Meanwhile, Caz (Andrea Sheldon) escapes from a mental institute and hits the road in a vengeful search for Lane.

The film takes place in a vaguely defined parallel universe where paranoia reigns, and transport and communication lines are continually being shut down by terrorist attacks. It unfolds in an elliptical narrative style, with the context gradually revealed over the course of the story through flashbacks.

Unlike many low-budget filmmakers today, Miron works exclusively in film—even in post-production, he eschews digital effects for optical printing—which gives The 4th Life a graceful, compelling aesthetic, full of languorous dissolves and sensual close-ups. A soundtrack by local soundscape artist David Kristian adds to the unsettling but gripping atmosphere.

Lane and Sheldon bravely embrace the lead roles, which require them to spend a lot of time half-naked and to deliver sometimes stilted film-noir-style dialogue. They’re supported by a strong local cast including Vitali Makarov as a shady cab driver, Shaun Balbar as a creepy antiques dealer, and a virtuoso three-role performance by the intense Michael Rigby.

The press release drops references to David Lynch, Jodorowsky and Guy Maddin, but the low-budget approach, occasionally clunky dialogue and copious female nudity add a distinctly trashy touch; at times, it’s more like a Troma horror movie or Russ Meyer flick than a piece of poetic cinema.

But as my mom likes to say, that’s not a complaint, just an observation. If those sorts of things don’t bother you, this will be thoroughly enjoyable, and even if they do, the intriguing narrative ambiguity and Miron’s visual wizardry make it worth checking out all the same.

The 4th Life opens
this Friday, June 13

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