Movie review: Triumph of the Wall

Triumph of the Wall

3 and one-half stars

Documentary

Directed by: Bill Stone

Duration: 102 mins.

Parental guidance: language

Playing: in English with French subtitles at Excentris

And you thought you had procrastination issues. Montreal director Bill Stone is only partially to blame for the 12 years it took to make his first film; his subject is equally guilty.

The Triumph of the Wall is an esoteric, existential documentary about life, the universe and a guy trying to build a 1,000-foot dry stone wall on a property in rural Quebec. Originally, it was just about the guy building the wall. Stone met Chris Overing at a Montreal caf?, heard about the project and figured it could make a nifty topic for a movie.

Stone walls are an ancient tradition that have gone out of fashion, but hold a kind of old-world romance at odds with the frenzy of the modern condition. So perhaps it?s only fitting that the very concept of time ends up at the centre of this rambling and oddly charming narrative.

Overing started his wall on Sept. 11, 2001, hoping to finish it within eight weeks. Well, things didn?t quite turn out that way. Even if the project hadn?t taken more than a decade, it would have made for a challenging movie subject.

?There?s something strange about filming something like this ? something slow and methodical, without any inherent drama,? Stone says early in the process, continuing, ?but it seems my attraction to drama may be under-developed.?

He forges ahead, dutifully turning up to follow Overing and an assistant puttering about, moving stones, trying to find the right one to put in the right spot. To make matters worse, Overing doesn?t have much in the way of grand observations on the deeper meaning of building a stone wall, or why he is doing it in the first place.

He?s an eternally upbeat, emotionally evasive guy; but as Stone proceeds with his documentary, he begins to find parallels between his subject and himself. Stone had worked in the film industry for years yet had never managed to make a film of his own. He loves to shoot photos and video, but his favourite images are of what is happening away from the action.

As Triumph of the Wall?s hazy premise materializes, the director wonders, ?What happens when you commit to something??

It?s a question you might find yourself asking, having hunkered down to watch Stone?s film. If you have the patience, there is payoff. He?s a wryly funny, philosophical guy, painfully aware of the absurdity of his undertaking, and resourceful in finding ways to pull it all together.

Traditional narrative structure is tossed out the window as Stone embraces the unknown, and unknowing, surrendering to a project that may or may not be about anything at all.

tdunlevy@montrealgazette.com

Twitter: @tchadunlevy

Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Movie+review+Triumph+Wall/8228678/story.html

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