Flowers & Garnet (2002)-Melissa Smith
May 5, 2008
Flower & Garnet (2002)
By Melissa Smith
Flower & Garnet is an achingly beautiful film that utilizes the unique desert location of Ashcroft, British Columbia to mirror the reality of its characters. The dry and arid topography of this location is an anomaly within British Columbia, which is renowned for its lush old growth forests, heavy precipitation and island scenery. Yet, with the exception of a fishing scene, water and foliage do not feature in the film’s landscape. Even during the fishing scene, the camera never centers on the natural beauty of the surrounding environment, but like a lifeless and dispirited eye, focuses only on what is immediately within its field of vision.
The performances are very well crafted and while the viewer gets a strong sense of the characters, it would be more accurate to describe them as well intuited rather than as fully developed. Like a Pinter play, everything is happening slightly below the surface, and the film is rife with symbolism. Most tellingly is the choice of naming the young male protagonist Garnet. In geological terms, garnets preserve the compositional conditions of the rocks from which they form, some developing into gemstones, while others become abrasives.Garnets can range from transparent to opaque in nature and appearance.
While the preceding description is an abbreviated version of the compositional characteristics of garnet, the naturally occurring mineral, it could also be used as a commentary on the character of Garnet who is first pictured wailing alone in the hospital while his father and six year old sister, Flower attend the funeral of his unnamed mother who has died in child birth. Colin Roberts, nominated for a genie award for his performance in the film, was nine at the time of production, and cast in the role of Garnet four days before shooting began. This is a well deserved accolade, as through minimal dialogue, Roberts manages to convey wounded longing enmeshed with the confused innocence of childhood.
The counterpoint to Garnet is the character of Flower, played by Jane McGregor, who has acted as a surrogate mother to Garnet since his birth,. While both flowers and garnets initially develop in the darkness of the earth, flowers needs light, air and water to thrive.
Although flowers are fragile in appearance, due to their roots, or hidden support systems, they are stronger than they seem. True to her namesake, Flower transplants herself into a healthier environment so that she can bloom, and her departure serves as a turning point in the film. Until this point, Flower has acted as an adhesive for the family and her departure forces Ed, their emotionally unavailable father to finally confront the emotions surrounding his wife’s death and begin to accept his parental responsibilities.
Written and directed by Saskatchewan native Keith Behrman, and winner of numerous awards (including Best Film from The Vancouver Critics Circle), the emotional resonance of this subtle yet powerful film stays with the viewer long after the credits roll.
Copyright C. 2008 Melissa Smith
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