Smack

Part documentary, part fiction, and highly experimental, Steve Sanguedolce’s “Smack” follows the story of three brothers (Antonio, Sybil and Zed) as they try to find their way in the world. The brothers exercise their youthful autonomy in defiant ways, exploring all that is forbidden (drugs, crime, violence). Their teenage years are filled with unhealthy, dangerous and criminal behaviour that eventually begins to pull them apart. The stories are told by actual subjects talking about their own lives, and range from religious transformations to heroin overdoses; they are funny, frightening, horrifying and all real. Toronto-based director/cinematographer Steve Sanguedolce matches these interconnected voice-over narratives with incredible hand-processed and vividly hand-toned images, creating a brightly coloured world at once beautiful and threatening. The intensity of family relationships, the lure of danger, and the hope for redemption are powerfully present in “Smack,” a fascinating, disturbing film, and Sanguedolce’s most ambitious work to date. Awards: Jury Award, Best Drama, Bargain Basement Film Festival, 2000; Audience Award, Best Drama, Bargain Basement Film Festival, 2000