TIFF 2024 Review “Can I Get A Witness”
Set in the near future in a version of our world that has overcome war, climate change, poverty and famine, Can I Get A Witness is a quiet meditation on life, hope, time and peace. It calls itself a fable but really plays more as a parable, quietly asking audiences to consider another version of our world. It weaves together a cautionary tale that paints an eloquent, quaint and colorful spectacle of sacrifice, gratitude and purpose.
A gentle yet vigorously thought provoking story that doesn’t quite preach but instead implores audiences to think, Can I Get A Witness follows Kiah (Keira Jang) as she begins her new job as a visual artist employed to record the final moments of someone’s life as they conduct their own ritualistic suicide. Though the world has become this perfect utopia (shown to us through picturesque shots of the beautiful Canadian countryside) in order to achieve it, people must willingly give their lives at fifty to allow the rest of humanity to continue in prosperity.
The science fiction elements of this film certainly lay the foundation for the greater themes and message, but audiences who start this movie expecting something like Blade Runner or Minority Report are in for the wrong experience. The film asks the audience to overlook the intricacies of the political backstory, to not question why everyone seems complacent in taking their own lives at fifty. Instead, this particular story device was created in service to the main message of the film, outlined by Sandra Oh’s character, Ellie: Kia’s mother.
It begs questions like how much time is enough time? What are parents willing to sacrifice for their children? If there was a way to undo all the damage we’ve caused this world? What would we pay so that it might be better for the next generation?
Director Ann Marie Fleming doesn’t shy from asking big questions and she makes it clear that this film doesn’t channel science fiction for any other reason than to serve the central premise. There are no cars, water is rationed, computers have been outlawed. There may be peace, but at what cost? After finding out, would you pay it? If one argues fifty years is not enough time, how much is? Seventy? A hundred? Or is this day, these fleeting moments we often overlook and take for granted, enough?
Daniel, played by Joel Oulette, who works as the technical agent alongside Kiah to ensure those taking their own lives at fifty during their “End of Life Ceremonies” do so safely and honourably, is more than a teenager in a suit and tie. He’s a steward of the Earth, evident by his intuitive costume design of blues and greens. He teaches Kia that although they must suffer devastating loss every day, each of these sacrifices is for the greater good—that it’s all for them.
This is truly a masterclass in thought provocation. The film isn’t judgy or preachy. It just poses a question; one that will stay with audiences for a long time after the credits roll. Oh gives a career defining performance, bold and emotional in how her intimate collaboration with Fleming approaches the subject matter. The film is dressed up in marvelous mise-en-scene, every set providing decades of backstory with a single shot.
Fleming takes her precious time in exploring the facets of nature we often overlook. We’re hyper-focused on our jobs, on making money, on abusing the resources we take for granted daily. In this new world, she implores us to stop and look at the beauty—the flowers, the nature, the wildlife. There is so much to be grateful for and every day is a blessing, yet we find ourselves always pining for more time. But there is never enough time. And the beauty in life is always there for us to perceive it… if we’re only willing to look.
Can I get a witness premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept 6, 2024
[Review by guest blogger Jurgen Sosa]