I purchased a copy of "Vakvagany" at a film festival in Kansas City and was treated to a pioneering piece of film. Meade has taken the medium of family home movies and transformed it into an art form, worthy of criticism and interpretation (which, of course, he also does). Critics of "Vakvagany" most certainly will attack the filmmaker's invasion of privacy to get what he wants out of Etruska, but I found his introduction of her to be one of the most moving moments in the film. Both Eturska and Erno are the personification of abuse victims: they are portrayed as awkward children in these home videos, playing parts in the role of a "happy" family while, after the cameras turn off, only the Locseis themselves know the extent of the abuse inflicted upon these children, if any at all. Erno and Etruska are the epitome of tragic characters. The abuse at the hands of a seedy father and alcoholic mother have molded them into, quite frankly, pathetic adults. And the only way we can gauge the full effect of their traumatic childhood is to see these two in the flesh, to see that Etruska lives in squalor and still hasn't faced the proverbial demons of her past, instead shutting down completely. In a sense, Meade has done a favor to Etruska and Erno by exposing their lives for us to see, to alert us to the plight of the "survivor" of a dysfunctional family. It is through these two that we can recognize the acts that the Locseis display for the camera likely veiled a darker side of the family.
My comments here roughly reflect what I got out of the movie: that our home movies indeed turn us into actors, that we sometimes present ourselves to the viewer in a different light and that, try as we may, our true nature still could shine through. And after the filming is done, we need to be able to take responsibility for our actions and our treatment of our family and to account for what we have produced (in this case, the Locsei "children"). While the home movie is a snapshot in time, it also is a case study of the inner workings of the family unit. I believe Meade is telling the viewer that we have a responsibility to face what our family has molded us into as adults, no matter how horrible. Amid all of the criticism "Vakvagany" has received, Meade should know that he has at least one fan who recognizes his film for what it is: a trailblazing look at humanity.
My comments here roughly reflect what I got out of the movie: that our home movies indeed turn us into actors, that we sometimes present ourselves to the viewer in a different light and that, try as we may, our true nature still could shine through. And after the filming is done, we need to be able to take responsibility for our actions and our treatment of our family and to account for what we have produced (in this case, the Locsei "children"). While the home movie is a snapshot in time, it also is a case study of the inner workings of the family unit. I believe Meade is telling the viewer that we have a responsibility to face what our family has molded us into as adults, no matter how horrible. Amid all of the criticism "Vakvagany" has received, Meade should know that he has at least one fan who recognizes his film for what it is: a trailblazing look at humanity.