arts // no. §

 

The grass 1s greener
in muted tones

>» ‘Memoir of War’ VIFF film review

C J Sommerfeld
Columnist

 

wee K KY

he film Memoir of War is a period

piece set during World War II in Paris,
France. Based on a true story, it follows
Marguerite Duras—played by the beautiful
Mélanie Thierry—and her long, protracted
wait for her husband Robert to return from
war. (Spoilers ahead!)

The film is narrated by protagonist
Duras, reading and reliving what she had
previously written in her journal while
her husband was away. The film begins
with Duras enlightening the viewer that
she does not have any recollection of

writing such monstrosities in her journal.
She does, however, recognize the idiolect
to be hers and the described events to
run parallel with what she remembers

of her life while her husband was away,
confirming that she had been the one
who had written the journal entries. This
acknowledgement of her stress-induced
memory loss, paired with the muted colour
palette of the opening scenes, sets the
melancholy tone for the film.

All two hours and six minutes of the
film (opt for the large bag of popcorn when
watching this one) were crafted around
Duras waiting for her husband Robert
to return from war. The slow, drawn-out
storyline really makes the viewer feel like
they, too, are waiting a lifetime for their

Welcome to Trench

» ‘Trench’ by Twenty One Pilots album review

Sonam Kaloti
Arts Editor

 

[: believe how much I enjoyed the
new Twenty One Pilots album. The last
few years have been a little rocky for the
band. While I’m sure everyone can agree
“Stressed Out” was far too overplayed, it’s
still undeniably a good song. Nevertheless,
the band is back with another album full
of hits.

Twenty One Pilots is an alternative
rock duo composed of Josh Dun, the
drummer, and Tyler Joseph, who does
everything else. Joseph is the pianist,
lyricist, and vocalist, among other essential
parts to the band. Trench is their fifth
studio album and their first record after a
three-year hiatus post-Blurryface, their last
(very successful) album. Chronologically,

their released albums are titled: Twenty
One Pilots, Regional at Best, Vessel,
Blurryface, and now Trench.

The singles off the album are
“Jumpsuit”, “Nico and the Niners’,
“Levitate”, and “My Blood”. Trench is a
concept album set in the fictional city of
Dema and the surrounding valley called
Trench. The album’s themes are those
recurrent in works by Twenty One Pilots—
insecurities, faith, and mental illness.

Commonly, bands debut their sound
with their major-label debut album (in this
case, Vessel). However, with the release
of Trench, Vessel now seems like the most
distinct sound they’ve had. Noticeably on
Trench, their sound has clearly developed,
yet it also sounds much like their oldest
albums, unlike Vessel or Blurryface. While
Vessel and Blurryface were the band’s first

Learning and
literature at
your leisure

» The Vancouver Writers Fest preview

Roshni Riar
Staff Writer

 

he Vancouver Writers Fest has kicked

off an exciting week of events spanning
from October 15 to 21. The annual festival
offers over 70 literary events peppered
across various Granville Island venues—
namely Performance Works, Revue Stage,
Studio 1398, Waterfront Theatre, and
Granville Island Stage—throughout the
week.

The Fest gives attendees the chance

to explore different literary genres. Events
are broken up into categories with focus
on specific genres and themes. The Writers
Fest also lets festival-goers discover and
support over 100 local and international
writers. Attendees can be involved

in conversations that emphasize the
importance of not only just taking part in
reading and writing but celebrating them
as acts of art and education.

Events begin each morning, starting as
early as 10 am, and typically run for an hour
and a half. There’s an average of 10 events
taking place each day, so there's a lot to
choose from when deciding what you'd like
to attend. The ticket prices for all weekday
events range from $20 to $26 for regular
admission.

For fans of suspenseful thrillers,
there’s Can’t Look Away with mystery
writers Michael Robotham, Liz Nugent,
and Iain Reid on October 16 at 8:30 pm.

On October 18 at 8 pm, there's Politics &
Prose with Chelene Knight, Waubgeshig
Rice, and Javier Zamora. For comic

 

husband to return from war. Similarly,
the gauziness of the colours on screen
encapsulates the viewer, allowing them
to feel the collective gloom which hung
over Paris during this time. Additionally,
blurred and out-of-focus camera shots
help the viewer empathize further with
Duras’ distorted head space. All these
factors contribute to getting so emotionally
absorbed into the film, you almost forget
that your emotions (and location) are
separate from Duras’.

The film follows Duras running
around her melancholic city, trying to
gather information about Robert’s location.
She dodges advances of other men (and all
offers of food) as her mind is preoccupied
with her husband's safe return. As the

@ Fy

 

trials in more produced, electronic sounds,
Trench brings back a lot of the casual,
piano sound from their self-titled and
Regional at Best albums, with tracks such
as “Neon Gravestones’, a song highlighting
the negative impact of romanticizing
suicide.

The sound in their new album is
thankfully a lot less melodramatic than
in their last one. Joseph rarely delves into
romantic songs that sound romantic. For
example, he plays with juxtaposition in the
song “Smithereens”, a song dedicated to
his wife, Jenna, proclaiming that he would
get beaten to smithereens for her—similar
to his previous song for Jenna, “Tear In My
Heart”. The entire vibe of Trench is very

 

book enthusiasts, you'll want to see The
Superhero In You with E. Paul Zehr on
October 19 at 10 am. For fans of humour,
there's Told with Humour on October 19
at 8:30 pm with Randy Boyagoda, Rawi
Hage, and Maureen Medved. There’s
also the Poetry Bash on October 19 at 8
pm, featuring Shane Koyczan, Billy-Ray
Belcourt, Julie Bruck, Sabrina Mahfouz,
Javier Zamora, and Katherena Vermette.
On October 20 the Fest is offering a
“Free Saturday’, giving attendees on a tight
budget the chance to go to events for free
or by donation—donations go towards
supporting the festival and keeping it
accessible and affordable—which is a great
initiative to bring these types of events
to everyone, regardless of their situation.
Tickets for the Saturday events can be
reserved online, with a small number to be
held at the door of each event. The lineup

theotherpress.ca

‘Memoir of War’ still

film wraps up, the long-awaited reunion
materializes. However, although this was
ultimately what both protagonist and
viewer had waited for, upon Robert’s
reappearance both Duras and the viewer
realize that they had been obsessed about
the action of his return and not the return
of his presence in her life. Duras’s emotions
regarding the two are independent of each
other; she waited anxiously for him to come
back safe without truly wanting to be in his
presence.

It is an age-old notion that everything
is more enticing when it is not present in
your life. The grass is always greener on
the other side—is it not? Maybe that grass
is always greener because your mind has
fertilized it more than your own.

‘Trench’ promotional image

groovy but switches up the rhythm with
the occasional fast-paced track.

My favourite song on this record
changes everyday. My favourite grooves
are currently “Cut My Lip” and “Morph”,
which are about persevering through hard
times and life after death, respectively. My
favourite banger may always be “Levitate”,
a rap song furthering the plot of Dema and
Trench. It is one of the first tracks on the
album, ending with the line “Welcome to
Trench.”

Boasting a casual sound and
meaningful lyrics, Trench is the kind of
album you can listen to whenever and
wherever you happen to be.

Image via Vancouver Writers

Fest Facebook Page

for Saturday is seriously impressive, with
events like YA Rising, a look at young adult
literature with Rachel Hartman, Uzma
Jalaluddin, and Kim Purcell at 2 pm;a
discussion about intertwining history and
fiction with Scars of History featuring Esi
Edugyan, Alix Hawley, and Rawi Hage

at 8 pm; and a showcasing of The Best
Canadian Poetry at 2 pm with Dionne
Brand, Canisia Lubrin, Shazia Hafiz Ramji,
and Christopher Tubbs.

The week of events and activities
promises to be eventful, inspiring, and
most of all, entertaining. There’s something
for everyone, and anyone who does get
the chance to attend will hopefully leave
Granville Island having learned something
new or found something to think
about—feeling the powerful impact of the
Vancouver Writers Fest nonetheless.