By Megan Bianco
Canada has produced a number of talented celebrities over the years. In the early days of Hollywood, they gave us Mary Pickford. In the 1960s, Neil Young traveled across the border to begin his prolific music career. More contemporarily, Sarah Polley has found success in both Canadian and American cinema. From child star to indie actress to Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Polley now delivers a documentary focused on her family.
When Polley was 18, she uncovered a rumor she was the product of an affair her mother had while out of town performing in a play. Years later, she discovered the rumor was true, but her mother, Diane, died without telling her or leaving any details. Stories We Tell documents Polley’s, as well as her family’s and friends’, reflections and reactions to her parents’ marriage and the search to find her biological father.
Rather than just interview her family and use old visuals from her childhood, Polley blends real life commentary with reenacted footage edited as home movies to tell the story of her mother and the dilemma she left her daughter. Polley has already proven she can create characters in front and behind the screen and now shows how fascinating real life people are too. Stories We Tell is a bittersweet, touching and warm homage to parents and appreciation of friends and family.
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