Just as we’re coming to terms with the latest depressing inquiry into Church predations on this island, we’re offered a rigorous reminder that by no means was Ireland singled out for special attention. Sugarcane is the Sundance-winning feature documentary by debutants Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.
Its epicentre is an investigation into the unmarked graves said to fringe a Catholic residential school in First Nations Canada. While the site undergoes examination, the filmmakers meet a handful of survivors facing their trauma.
We’re shown a Native culture whose vibrant customs are starkly at odds with the dour self-loathing and dubious dogma of their Catholic tyrants. Equally, however, we come to realise the many challenges – racism, substance abuse, disenfranchisement – endemic to First Nations communities, as if they hadn’t suffered enough.
As testimonies are reckoned with, shape is put on the precise horrors perpetrated by god-fearing men (prepare to wince at the predominance of Irish surnames) and then covered up through acts too vile to utter here. A standout documentary about resilience and pride in the face of evil.
Five stars