Director: Saturnin Kondratiew
Writers: Adler Floyd, Saturnin Kondratiew
Stars: David Lucas, Aries Spears, Gad Saad
Synopsis: Gripping documentary dives into one of the most controversial freedom of speech cases in Canadian history. When comedian Mike Ward made a joke about Jeremy Gabriel it started a legal battle that climbed all the way to the Supreme Court.
Political documentaries have always been in fashion, but with the world constantly on the edge of a precipice, and entire governmental systems collapsing, economic crises taking place one after the other, and political leaders adamant on making this planet a hellspace, they are no longer a luxury. They are obligatory portals into intercultural dynamics, on both governmental levels and even between different nations.
Director Saturnin Kondratiew’s American Troll is an exceptional piece of documentary filmmaking for multiple reasons. First of all, it tackles the uncomfortable topic of comedy, and whether the new era of political correctness has hurt true comedy and comedians. Every day, one of America’s most famous comedians would come out and say that a particular comedy movie everyone considers a classic wouldn’t be made today because the studios are risk averse or because there is a fear of hurting the wrong group. Second of all, Kondratiew tackles freedom of speech, and how laws differ from one country to another, that a harmless joke could actually end up with its owner in jail. This is what almost happened to the subject of our film: Quebec comedian Mike Ward.
The documentary centers around Ward throwing a dark joke -an insensitive one, but didn’t a lot of comedians who didn’t age well throw similar jokes back in the day- about a Quebecois celebrity, a young boy named Jeremy Gabriel with a rare genetic disorder. It would be a sacrilege to reveal the joke here, and it would kill the joy of discovering what Ward said, and the domino effect that followed, wrecking his life completely. So it’s safe to say it’s an insensitive joke directed at a little boy with a disability, and yet it cost Ward more than he bargained for.
Whose side is Kondratiew on? After watching the entire thing, it’s obvious that Kondratiew is on Ward’s side. He gives space for Gabriel to express himself and tell his side of the story but the whole thing is framed like a cry out for help before it’s too late and people in Canada are gagged for good. It’s also an analysis of who gets to decide what’s acceptable and what’s not, and how the general consensus can sometimes be as harmful as it seems empowering in driving societal change through lawmakers’ decisions.
Kondratiew’s filmmaking style is traditional to say the least. Nothing revolutionary jumps off the screen to meet the viewer. It’s what one would expect from investigative, expository-documentary filmmaking. There are interviews with both parties in the dispute. There is archival material that Kondratiew digs from the depths of the internet even though he is underfunded. Because of the uncomfortable nature of his project, not a lot of sponsors were willing to back him up. The bravery of modern directors seeking the truth and the ways by which they self-fund artistic endeavors that no longer find funding through the proper routes. For this film, Kondratiew spent seven years of his life, interviewing, gathering archival material, and relying on tight financial resources to complete it. The director also expands his point of view to include the freedom of speech laws in Canada, and many other comedians are mentioned and interviewed about problems they have faced with the censorship and the freedom of expression. The line to be crossed is getting thinner by day, and yet, accusations of racism, cultural appropriation, and political incorrectness are also important to put into perspective.
The journey of making the film itself is inspiring. But does the subject matter live up to the hype? In many ways, American Troll is one man’s gain reciprocated into pain for the other. The director bringing both points of view to the forefront stays neutral, or at least attempts to do that with his set of skills and the limited amount of material he has at his disposal. The result may not be groundbreaking, but a story worth telling and watching, especially in discussing topics that are gaining more and more sensitivity by day. But if the fight against comedy takes a turn for the worse, and more voices are silenced, will a noble cause like protecting an innocent disabled kid’s feelings be used as a double-edged weapon to silence comedians mocking corrupt politicians? It’s a fine line to walk.
