2023 CAMDEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
The Haskell Free Library and Opera House sits on the border of Vermont and Canada, making for interesting conversation regarding the rules and regulations of border control. Anyone living in either Canada or the United States has the right to use this library, and it’s become a haven for refugees living in Canada, those that aren’t allowed in the United States. 45th Parallel tells the story of one tragic event and the history of this public library.
45th Parallel is very theatrical, and it does a spectacular job of pulling viewers into the film and guiding them through the events at the Haskell Free Library and Opera House. The film often places us at ground level, forcing us to follow in the footsteps of the people that existed there before–and we are pulled into a world that feels so different from the one in which we live. I’m located in New Jersey, and the Haskell Free Library and Opera House is only a seven-hour drive from my home–which may seem far, but in the grand scheme of things it’s quite close. Due to the fact that this place seems so foreign, so unfamiliar, there’s the chance that viewers struggle to connect with the narration, but Director Lawrence Abu Hamdan does such a wonderful job of drawing connections to the location in question and the rest of the free world.
The film is so powerful, so in tune with the feelings and emotions of its viewers–and it knows just how to make viewers fall in love with it. Again and again I fell in love with the film, and I could feel the emotion as it poured from the mouth of Narrator Mahdi Fleifel and then the screen as a result. Then, as the film came to a screeching halt, as it came to a close–it changed. I was so intrigued by the things that Fleifel said throughout the course of 45th Parallel, and then it becomes so drastically and pointedly political that those things go out the window.
I love how visceral 45th Parallel is, how it makes viewers feel like they are physically there, present in The Haskell Free Library and Opera House. Part of what makes that possible is Fleifel’s voice. His voice is so calming, so matter of fact–and it brilliantly conveys the tone of the film and the emotion present in his stories. 45th Parallel is powerful, brilliantly constructed, and just about everything it needs to be in order to reach its viewers. Fleifel is the key to the film’s success, the key to viewers being able to feel the things being spoken about, and he never relents. Even as the film shifts too far in one direction, Fleifel remains balanced and grounded; he’s the backbone of 45th Parallel.
45th Parallel extends itself too far in one direction as the film inches toward a close–and I was so aggravated with the direction it went. However, this is a brilliantly made film, with so much attention to detail. Hamdan knows exactly what he’s doing, and I think the decision to be divisive at the end of 45th Parallel was calculated and intentional. He is a stellar filmmaker, and paired with Fleifel, they effectively drive the film toward success.
Directed by Lawrence Abu Hamdan.
Starring Mahdi Fleifel.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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