An interesting, (mostly) well-made documentary about the director's own family events. The truths and stories here weren't dramatic at all - a child later finding out a parent wasn't their biological parent until they were into adulthood? This is incredibly common. I'm sure many other families even have far more interesting, riveting stories to tell. The director Sarah Polley manages to make this fairly engaging to watch though.
It's as much about the art of storytelling and reflecting back on one's life - as it is about anything else. It's almost as if the director suddenly realised the events depicted would probably be underwhelming to people not related to her - so chose to make it more about the bigger picture of storytelling towards the end.
"Stories We Tell" succeeded in making me reflect about my own life and my own family. Anyone interested in the art of writing, family history or memoirs would probably find this film fascinating - my interest in those definitely helped keep me invested. It did feel about 20 minutes too long though. Towards the end, I felt it meandered on and on a little too much and became a bit self-indulgent.
Despite its downfalls, it is still a very thought provoking documentary and transports you back to a time and place. It's a little ironic that Michael Polley mentions a fly on the wall numerous times, as I definitely felt like a fly on the wall to this family while watching.
It's as much about the art of storytelling and reflecting back on one's life - as it is about anything else. It's almost as if the director suddenly realised the events depicted would probably be underwhelming to people not related to her - so chose to make it more about the bigger picture of storytelling towards the end.
"Stories We Tell" succeeded in making me reflect about my own life and my own family. Anyone interested in the art of writing, family history or memoirs would probably find this film fascinating - my interest in those definitely helped keep me invested. It did feel about 20 minutes too long though. Towards the end, I felt it meandered on and on a little too much and became a bit self-indulgent.
Despite its downfalls, it is still a very thought provoking documentary and transports you back to a time and place. It's a little ironic that Michael Polley mentions a fly on the wall numerous times, as I definitely felt like a fly on the wall to this family while watching.