Blurring the lines between fiction and documentary, the Canadian feature Gamma Rays follows several young adults from diverse communities in Montréal, Quebec as they contemplate questions around self-identity and the future.
Over the course of one summer, we witness each of three characters—who are living separate lives, unaware of each other—tackle their own personal hurdles and coming-of-age questions. While they are often self-serious about the drama of their inner lives, the film injects humour as well to keep the narrative lighter and provide a balanced tone.
For Abdel (Yassine Jabrane), who is used to a quiet life with his family in which he has created rigid structures for himself and is rather serious, the arrival of his extroverted and clumsy cousin causes friction but also creates an opportunity for Abdel to learn how to let loose a little, if only he’ll try. However, Abdel finds his well-meaning cousin a constant disruption to Abdel’s carefully curated lifestyle and he finally cracks. As Abdel faces the consequences of his actions and tries to make amends, he learns to be more accepting and live with more empathy for others.
Elsewhere in Montréal, Fatima (Chaimaa Zinedine) is a bold young woman unafraid to speak her mind and stand up for her friends. Looking for opportunities and adventure seems to have led her down a potentially dangerous path, however, and she finds that trying to step away from it may be more difficult than she imagined. She finds support as well as confrontation in her best friend, who sticks to the safe path like glue and so shies away from the lifestyle in which Fatima sometimes finds herself. When Fatima stands up to her friend’s bullies, it creates unintended repercussions and tension within their friendship, but ultimately the two friends reconcile their differences, recognizing it’s what makes their relationship strong.
Meanwhile, Toussaint (Chris Kanyembuga) is more of a lone wolf, spending his time away from the hustle and bustle of the city and avoiding the kind of loud drama that Abdel and Fatima find themselves facing. Toussaint loves to fish down at the river, and one day he finds a message in a bottle that contains a phone number. Hesitantly, Toussaint calls the number. A woman answers, and the two of them strike up a friendship over the phone, their respective anonymity allowing them to push each other to contemplate deeper questions. Toussaint also relies on his anonymous friend for advice, but when it doesn’t go as planned, he initially blames his friend before he realizes he must overcome his fears and self-doubt in order to put himself out there. When he does, it leads him to a surprising discovery.
Gamma Rays is directed by Henry Bernadet and co-written by Bernadet, Nicolas Krief, and Isabelle Brouillette. In his director’s statement, Bernadet explains that in his previous films he drew from his own experiences coming from a white monoculture suburb in Québec City. With this film, he wanted to do something different and was really interested in connecting with young people from different backgrounds and working directly with them in order to authentically explore their realities.
To this end, the lead actors are all non-professional actors with whom Bernadet collaborated to workshop their characters’ stories, which are crafted from a blend of fiction and the young adults’ own experiences and personalities. The film’s blurred line between realism, documentary and fiction works well as it allows the young individuals to showcase their talent, their voices and their stories, as well as present the diversity of the city they call home. The three leads successfully carry the film as it shifts seamlessly between their narratives, weaving individual stories that are connected through shared experiences and challenges.
Gamma Rays has its world premiere at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival as part of their New Directors section, a competitive programme of features from first or second-time directors.
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