LOWDOWN TRACKS (Shelley Saywell, Canada). 86 minutes. Rating: NNNN
Shelley Saywell‘s profile of homeless musicians makes for an inspiring ode to the power of music to sustain people living on the margins.
She and her on-screen animator, Lorraine Segato, encouraged gifted players living in the streets and in encampments to tell their stories and shed light on what brought them to their desperate circumstances. It’s a valuable sociology lesson, and the tales of abuse, bureaucratic bungling and financial hardship are heartbreaking.
And the talent is wondrous. Wendell Cormier, who was forced to get electroshock treatments, sounds like Gordon Lightfoot, and singer/songwriter Maryann Epp is an inspiring combination of anger and wit.
Get out the kleenex when Segato takes them into her studio to record their songs with her band.
Apr 25, 8:30 pm, TIFF 2 Apr 27, 6:30 pm Scotiabank 3 May 2, 6:30 pm, Scotiabank 8.
