Curling is a 2010 film made by French Canadian director Denis Cote. It tells the story primarily of a father and daughter who live in a remote part of Canada, and remote is the central theme of the movie. We have a father Jean Francois who works as a maintenance man in numerous places, but primarily in a bowling alley. His daughter, Julyvonne (a beautiful name) lives at home, or should I say, exists at home. Jean Francois keeps her at home, in isolation. She doesn’t attend school, socialise with other kids or seem to have much of life. 



She waits for her father to come home from his job, a place where he maintains a distance from the rest of the world. Even as the world tries to involve him, he begrudgingly responds. He is a man of few words. This extends to the home where conversations between the two main characters are at a minimum. This is epitomised by a scene early on in the movie where Julyvonne is treated to listening to some music (aptly Tiffany’s ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’). The father is deeply uncomfortable during the whole event whereas in the daughter, we finally some sparks of life. As a father of two girls, the movie was unsettling and uncomfortable to watch at times as I wrestled with the idea that I was watching a movie about abuse. 

But it’s not a movie that tells a sweeping arc, its a movie about life and people and I found myself really enjoying it, specifically, the pacing of the movie. It was a movie that flows, which is in stark contrast to many other reviews I’ve seen about it. ‘Boring, nothing happens, waste of my time’. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is beautifully shot and the locales are used to spectacular effect. Its an authentic look at people. How, even though Jean Francois doesn’t want to engage with the world, people around him, like him and want him involved in their lives. There are secrets abound in this world but not every thread is (or needs) to be resolved. I loved that. I can interpret what I want from it. The film can be about whatever I want it to be. 

I watched this movie through a release by Second Run and includes a lengthy interview with the writer / director Cote. Its a great watch with some really astute observations about cinema. He makes a comment about two types of cinema goer / viewer. There are passive watchers and active watchers. Passive watchers want to be entertained at all times, so want stuff to happen on the screen. Active watchers involve themselves in the film, put themselves there and feel with the characters and motivations. There is no judgement call on whether one is better than another but it maybe speaks to why I loved the film while others didn’t. Its a great extra. 

Coupled with this, there is a short film from the director May we Sleep Soundly. It is nothing more than a voyeuristic view of watching a household sleep, oblivious to the world around them or the person noisily making their way around. There must be something in how Cote uses the camera as an eye to the world as it was intensely watchable as well. 

Finally we have the booklet, which was just as interesting as the movie itself. It's a fascinating read as the film making of Cote is detailed and how there are themes that are omni-present throughout. Booklets often get overlooked as movies tend to be a visual medium but they are a constant source of intelligent thought and knowledge. Long live the booklet, although it is often in booklets about movies that I find some of the most incomprehensible words. ‘Epistemological’ being a great example here .

A great release and a new director (for me) to seek out in the future.