TIFF Review: THE EARRING

One of my great discoveries at the 2007 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival was the work of Sheila and Nicholas Pye, highly regarded photographic artists who also stand as two of the very finest film makers this country has to offer right now.  Their work is surreal and gorgeous, a perfect fusion of image and sound designed to draw an emotional response out of their viewers.  And do they ever.  Last year the pair came ot the festival with the darkly beautiful Loudly Death Unties, an almost Lynchian bit of work that was one of my favorite films in the festival, and this year they return with a new short titled simply The Earring.

For most of the year between films the duo have been living in Europe as part of an artists’ residency - they arrived back in Canada just days before the festival - and so The Earring makes for a fascinating study in contrast with Loudly Death Unites.  While both are gorgeously photographed and rely on speed manipulation and sound design to create their worlds they are otherwise quite different.  Loudly Death Unties is an exercise in tightly controlled design, shot in a tightly controlled environment that allowed for some elaborate camera movements and light design.  The Earring, by contrast was shot largely hand held by Nicholas himself, almost entirely exterior.  It’s a much more open film, one more reliant on natural lighting and environment and performance.

The story is simple enough.  Two girls - they may be friends, sisters or lovers - share a set of earrings - one each - before setting out from home into the world.  Over the eight minute running time they push deep into the surrounding forest, enjoying their closeness until a disagreement pushes them apart to a tragic end.  It’s a very simple bit of work and it’s strength comes from that simplicity, the pair allowing their audience to read just about anything they want into it, more than anything they have created a screen on which the audience can project themselves.  Very different, very good.