FIRE SONG (Adam Garnet Jones ). 85 minutes. Opens Friday (May 13). See Listing. Rating: NNNN
Remember the name Adam Garnet Jones. The writer/director’s debut feature might tell a familiar story, but it’s beautifully shot, heartfelt and demonstrates a real sensitivity to youth, LGBT and First Nations issues.
On a northern Ontario reserve, bright teenager Shane (Andrew Martin) is at a crossroads. His sister has just committed suicide, and his mother (Jennifer Podemski) has sunk into a debilitating depression. He wants to leave to study in Toronto, but he’s held back by insecurity, money problems, responsibility to his mom and his two relationships, a public, non-sexual one with Tara (Mary Galloway) and a secret sexual one with David (Harley Legarde), the closeted grandson of one of the town’s respected elders.
That’s a lot to pack into the leisurely first hour, and the film is hampered by some uneven acting. (Many in the cast are non-professionals.) But the situations feel authentic, and Jones and his cinematographer find evocative settings – a rice-gathering scene stands out. The final half-hour, energized by Martin’s tightly wound performance, is emotionally involving and unpredictable.