issue 07 // volume 42

The passion behind making ‘Hyena Road’

» An interview with Paul Gross

Lauren Paulsen
Senior Columnist

: we should know the enormity
: of what we are asking of them

when they go to fight on our

fter writing Passchendaele,

Paul Gross swore up and
down that he would never make
another war movie, because they
are so complicated to make, and
take forever to finance. But then
he was invited to meet and greet
Canadian troops in Afghanistan
in 2010.

“[The war] seemed to bear
almost no relationship to what
I had been led to believe was
happening by either [of the]
governments and the media,
for the most part,” he said to
the Other Press. “It was vastly
more complicated and lethal and
opaque and baffling.”

Gross decided to come back
and photograph parts of the
country in early 2011. He met
many new people who were
affected by the war and they told
him their stories. It was these
many, many stories that he used
to form the basis of his idea for
Hyena Road.

Although Gross hadn’t
planned on making another
war movie, he felt compelled to
show Canadians back home at
least a glimpse of what it was
like. He feels that the burden we
place on the men and women
who fight for our country is far
greater than we realize, and that

: behalf in a foreign land.

It is quite inevitable that

: Hyena Road will be compared

: to Gross’s previous war movie,

: Passchendaele, but as any viewer
: can see after watching it, the

: movies are completely different.
: The whole creation and style are
: different, as are the time periods
: and wars that the movies are
based on.

“T didn’t even think much

: about Passchendaele when I was
: making it,” Gross said. “I kind of
: think of them as bookends, in

: a way, that they are on opposite

: sides of the spectrum.”

Part of this difference is in

: the way that they were filmed.

: Hyena Road lacked a dolly track
: and any crane shots, which were
: commonly used in Passchendale.
: While I was watching Hyena

: Road, I found the action to

: be so much more hectic and

: immediate because of this

: filming choice.

Gross and his crew did

: their best to make the movie

: as authentic and accurate as it

: could possibly be. Even small

: details such as what they say on
: communications traffic were

: based on fact.

One very big asset to the

: movie was having Niamatullah

: Arghandabi play The Ghost.

: Big A, as the crew often called

: him, is not actually an actor.

: Instead, he is heavily involved

: in his country’s politics, and, in
: the past, actually served under
: the real Ghost. His insight was
: invaluable.

All of the characters are

actually based on either real

: people that Gross met or

: combinations of people. Not

: only did he have a person who

: worked under The Ghost to lend
: his wisdom, he also met with

: the real Ghost. The Cleaner,

: a character in the movie, was

: another person that Gross

: actually met with and spoke to.
: He managed to speak with these :
amazing people through the

: help of an Intelligence Officer.

The Canadian Forces

: were amazing when it came to

: helping with the movie, offering
: alot of insight and advice, and

: opening their doors wide to

: Gross and his crew. Much of the
: footage of the Canadian army

: base in Hyena Road is from a

: real Canadian base in Montreal.
: “Without them, we of course :
: couldn’t have done it,” Gross

: said. “I think the reason that

: they're so open is that they were
: very confident in what they were :
: doing and very committed to the :
: mission and felt that they were
: conducting themselves with

: great honour and integrity, and
: that’s true.”

: about the cast, Gross was all

: praise. Despite the long hours
: and hard work, everybody was
fully committed to it.

: was hugely enjoyable because
: everybody showed up to work
: and was eager and keen,” he :
: said. “Everybody just sort of took :
: ownership of the film, and that’s
: kind of what you both need and
: want when you're doing small,

: independent features.”

 

When it came to talking

“(Making Hyena Road]

Speaking with Gross about

arts // no. 9

Photo via Elevation Pictures

: Making Hyena Road for him was
: not just about making a movie

: but about sending a message:
war is a big deal.

“We shouldn't lose these

: things so quickly in our

: memory,” he said. “It is a big

: disservice to those who served
: and the true nature of our

: history.”

Gross also wants all
Canadians to know that

: “regardless of whether we think
: we should be involved in such

: a conflict or not, we can take

: great pride in the fact that

: [the Canadian Armed Forces]

: his movie showed just how much :
: passion he has for his work.

represent us with a huge degree

: of integrity and honour.”

 

Comic Corner: It’s time for a real scare!

» ‘Wytches Vol. 1’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor
M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca :

O0000

oving on with my ghoulish

look at the horror genre, I
decided to move away from the
campy and go straight into the
terrifying. I can honestly say
that Wytches by Scott Snyder is
genuinely scary, and the perfect
gore-fest for all you slasher fans
out there.

Combining the best aspects
of Insidious and the Blair Witch
Project, Wytches takes it a step
further by embracing the more
classical, bloodthirsty lore of
everyone’s favourite Halloween
sorceresses. The plot follows
the Rooks, an average family—
if you ignore the fact they’ve
moved to a new town to escape
ghosts. Unfortunately for
them, their new surroundings
don’t seem to suit them much
better than the old ones, as
they become marked by the
dangerous, cannibalistic forces
that creep through the dark
forests at night. P’ll warn you

 

: though, if you're looking for a
: happy story, best to turn back
> now.

Snyder has ways of
manipulating his narrative
so classical tropes become
reinvented. Yes, this book plays

: to the old “family moving to

: a new town to escape trauma”
: scenario that plagues many

: horror films and books.

: However, the treatment of the
: plot and how everything plays
: out prevents the story from

: feeling stale or overdone.

Wytches sees Scott Snyder

: reunite with Batman: Death

: in the Family illustrator

: Jock. Together, the two seem

: unstoppable. There aren’t many
: artists who can tempt me into
: getting a graphic novel based
: solely on my appreciation of

: their talents, but Jock might

: soon become one of them. To
: put it very simply, the art is

: perfect; gory and dark, it’s an
: unparalleled extension of the
: story it’s depicting.

Seeing as my praise for

: this book seems endless, I

: would definitely recommend it,
: though maybe not for the faint
: of heart.

 

Image by Jock via IGN