Stories We Tell

Stories We Tell is a captivating documentary from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sarah Polley. Released in 2012, this film centers on the extraordinary life of director Sarah's mother, Diane Polley. Exhibiting a mixture of unique creative exploration, storytelling investigation, and an insightful personal journey, the film plunges viewers into the heart of a complicated and intriguing family.

The film includes primary characters such as Michael Polley, Diane's husband and Sarah's father, along with siblings like John and Mark Polley, who help reveal their family's tangled narrative. Taking a rather experimental route to portray her bold narrative, Polley relies heavily on interviews, home footage, and recreated home videos. This allows her to traverse multiple perspectives and present a multilayered narrative of love, disguise, family, and the elusiveness of truth.

The film begins by investigating the late Diane Polley, an actress and casting director. As a charismatic, vibrant, and energetic woman, Polley's mother was the heart and soul of their family before her untimely passing when Sarah was just eleven years old. Via this film, Polley embarks on an authentic journey of discovery to better understand this influential figure in her life.

Michael Polley, the family's patriarch, serves as the documentary's primary narrator. His earnest recollection and poignant observations offer viewers a strong emotional connection to the tale. His often poetic voice-over narration, culled from his own writing, provides coherence and rhythm to the patchwork of experiences, anecdotes, and recollections weaved throughout the film. The Polley family's other members, including John and Mark Polley, lend their voices, perspectives, and emotions to this multifaceted and complex family history.

Stories We Tell also twists and challenges the documentary genre by blurring the line between 'real' and staged footage. Sarah Polley ingeniously fills in the gaps in the family's available archival footage and home movies by creating Super 8 film recreations of her family's past, adding further depth to the narrative puzzle. These innovative techniques help Polley to not just tell the family's story but to illustrate the complexities of memory, perspective, and the essence of storytelling itself.

The film's core profound message is that every family has a narrative, often complicated by differing perspectives and incomplete informations. This weaves a complex fabric of juxtaposed truths and half-truths. Polley explores these themes in the film, asking the viewer to question the reliability of their own recollections and the stories passed down through their families. In doing so, Polley tells a deeply personal saga about her family's past, but also touches on the universal aspects of human life, love, and memory.

Stories We Tell could have been merely a personal catharsis for the filmmaker, but Polley has carefully crafted it to engage viewers and cause us all to reflect on our own stories and the versions of truth in our lives. There is a sense of vulnerability and courage as Polley, through her search for truth about her mother, ends up revealing more about herself and her family.

A brave and stylish exploration of family, memory, and the narratives we construct about our lives, Stories We Tell is an exquisite piece of work that layers several dramatic elements with investigative storytelling. The result is a film that skillfully uncovers the breadth of human joy and sorrow, and the utter unpredictability of life itself.

On the whole, Stories We Tell is a powerful, affecting, and groundbreaking documentary. It stands out as an imaginative and highly personal piece of cinema, showcasing Sarah Polley's talent and creativity as a filmmaker, and bringing a unique perspective to the world of documentary storytelling.