Sisters&Brothers

The 24th Annual Edmonton International Film Festival started this weekend and I went to the screening of Sisters & Brothers, which was written by Edmonton-born director, Carl Bessai, who was all kinds of happy over having the movie screen in his hometown.

I was very proud and happy to watch the film. Not only was the entire film improvised and low budget - something that was clearly obvious, given the limited shooting locations - but it was extremely well-acted and well-executed. The stories flowed seamlessly and the tone of the film was never lost on its audience. Funny scenes were funny. Sombre scenes were sombre. And hella awkward scenes were hella awkward.

Now, our boy Cory? Extremely enjoyable to watch. Basically, he and Dustin Milligan played two brothers. Older brother Justin (Cory Monteith) has found fame being a Canadian mega movie star in Hollywood, while his younger brother, Rory (Dustin Milligan), has recently come back from Africa after a failed attempt at fame. When we talked to the director after the movie, he informed us that Dustin and Cory came up with the concept for their story by basing it on their life experiences. Dustin's character on the CW's 90210, Ethan, was cut after being in one season, while Cory's stint on Glee has brought him fame and fortune. In the film, the brothers have a really close relationship and you can see how well Dustin and Cory get along in real life because they're so chummy on-screen.

I have to say, though, that as much as I adored Dustin and Cory's Rory and Justin, the rest of the characters were equally lovable. The other stories centre around other sibling-type relationships. There are two half-sisters who rely on one another (but hate to be related), an only child, and a co-dependent brother and sister. There were moments in the film when I felt a prickle in my eye and, I have to admit, there were also moments in the film where I couldn't deny how Canadian the film really is! I know Cory said that he was proud of the fact the film wasn't "overly Canadian", but if you're familiar with the kitschiness of Canadiana, you'll definitely see it.

All in all, the movie had some hilarious one-liners (care of Dustin and Cory), some heart-wrenching moments (care of the entire cast), as well as some awkward moments (mostly care of Amanda Crew) and the film's tone had natural shifts. Like in one the climactic scene between Rory and Justin, where both brothers are hashing out past wrongs, Rory turns to three groupies who'd met Justin at the airport and who he'd invited over (and with whom he was looking to score...) and told them, pointblank: "He used to get cold sores!" It was extremely well-executed. The timing was impeccable and Cory's character's response of "Uh, he was-he was joking about that," was so adorably hilarious that the entire theatre burst out laughing.

During the Q&A portion with the director, he actually told us all that he's looking to release Sisters & Brothers, the third instalment in an improvised trilogy about families, along with the two preceding films Mothers & Daughters and Fathers & Sons on iTunes as a three-pack. Bessai also said that he hoped that iTunes release would be worldwide and not only restricted to Canada (which means you International Cory fangirls would get to buy them, too!).

Also worth mentioning is the fact that it was Cory, not Bessai, who coined the term Montourage. Bessai went on to talk about a particular shot (which happens at the very end of the scene), when he was shot the scene between Dustin and Cory from the exterior, and people mistook him for a paparazzi taking pics of Cory. People started crowding around him, snapping pics and ruining his shot with their flash! He also let slip that he might collaborate on another film with Cory. Let's hope it's shot in Edmonton next time, all right?