THE FAIRY FAITH (2000) / **
Directed by John Walker. Running time: 77 minutes. Rated PG by the MFCB. Reviewed on March 22nd, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Last year, the wrestling chronicle "Beyond The Mat" became the first documentary to procure a regular engagement at a St John's cinema in recent memory. Now, the envelope has been pushed one step further, with the week-long screening of the Genie Award-nominated "The Fairy Faith" -- the first Canadian documentary to hit local theatres in probably an even longer time.
Of course, given the subject material, it makes sense that "The Fairy Faith" would find its way to this province. Newfoundland enjoys as close a relationship with rural Britain and Ireland as any region on Earth. Indeed, some outport communities probably bear a closer resemblance to the England of three centuries ago than anywhere in the present-day United Kingdom. And it is these sorts of places where the traditional fairy lore still holds some measure of influence -- where the oldtimers speak of strange things that happened to a friend of a friend, back in the day, and even the younger set is wary of peculiar shapes half-glimpsed in the twilight mist.
"The Fairy Faith" is about these people: those who still adhere to the ancient customs, in spite of the onset of progress and skepticism. Producer/director John Walker is a man who was himself enthralled as a child by the stories of the Wee Folk, as told by his Scottish grandmother. His mission here is to explore why certain folk still have faith in the fairy lore -- why, to some, fairy tales are not mere bedtime fiction but indeed something unexpectedly close to the truth.
Much of the film is spent traipsing about the British Isles, from the Scottish highlands to the glens of Ireland. These scenes are beautifully filmed, often set to bewitching music. After giving a brief synopsis of the basics of fairy legends (accompanied by some lovely artwork in a variety of styles), Walker interviews several individuals who claim to believe in fairies. Unfortunately, there is little rhyme nor reason to the process of Walker's investigation. His subjects seem chosen haphazardly, and he strains sometimes to lend them credibility.
For instance, a university scholar and a Celtic harpist offer interesting insight into the subject at hand, and their segments are genuinely engaging. But then there is the man who avers that he has the power to see fairies; when he starts pointing out places where the creatures are supposed to be, things grind to an embarrassing halt. The camera, of course, captures nothing unusual, and Walker never really pursues the obvious questions. Why can this man see fairies but we can't? What is it that prevents us from seeing the curious sprite he insists is sitting at the foot of a cascade?
This failure of Walker's to strive for substance persists throughout the documentary. Later, he visits a castle in which is stored a piece of cloth allegedly once owned by a fairy. Walker describes being fascinated by the artefact when his grandmother brought him there in his youth. He comments that now it just looks like an old, ragged piece of material, possessing none of the wonder he formerly beheld. But he explores this no further. Why has his perspective changed? Does this mean his belief in the fairies has wavered? Why? What does this say about him, given that he constantly insists to his interview subjects that he does, indeed, share their faith?
To make matters worse, for every well-presented conversation, Walker includes some testimonials which are sorely in need of the editor's touch. Consider, for example, the yawn-inducing story told by a bemused Englishman who claims his shadow was nearly stolen by two fairies. Or the extended detour in which Walker indulges, about a supposed fey tree on the verge of being uprooted to make way for a new bypass. "The Fairy Faith" is short enough at an hour and a quarter, so perhaps Walker felt the need to pad things out, but he could have done so by bolstering his analysis rather than just drawing out the proceedings.
Equally uneven is the latter third of the film, when Walker returns to Canada to examine how fairy lore persists in this country. Disappointingly, Walker confines his attention just to the Antigonish region of Cape Breton island in Nova Scotia. What about other parts of the country where the old legends are not yet forgotten, like Newfoundland or Quebec? While I enjoyed the parallels Walker drew between belief in fairies and the traditions of indigenous peoples, I felt a greater exploration was warranted of the translation of fairy legends to the New World. Are there any noticeable differences in the fairy folklore of Cape Breton and the British Isles? Have any characteristics arisen which are unique to Canada, or are things essentially unchanged?
Further, Walker spends so much time on his Native American angle that he largely neglects the more obviously Celtic-derived myths of the Atlantic region. When he does return to this theme, it's often without much coherence. For example, several minutes are spent with a schoolteacher who took photographs of a small cave in which fairies are thought to reside. A big deal is made about one photo, which is supposed to contain evidence of fey activity, and the camera returns to it on multiple occasions. The problem is that it's never explained just what that evidence is supposed to be -- it just looked to me like a bunch of shadows, and I had no idea what I was supposed to be seeing.
"The Fairy Faith" is a nice idea poorly executed. Fairy lore is a rich and fascinating topic -- there is, after all, a very good reason why it has survived down through the millennia. Unfortunately, Walker never probes far below the surface of the subject. The result is a movie which neither successfully examines the questions it poses, nor fully captures the sheer magic of the fairy realm.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/TheFairyFaith.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +----------------------------------+----------------------------------+ / Popcorn Gallery Movies Reviews www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html \ | Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) /drwho.html |
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