Stories We Tell 2012 DVD-R

Actress/director/writer Sarah Polley conducts a series of interviews - "interrogations" as one of her interview subjects calls them - with family, friends and acquaintances. She wants her subjects to talk openly and honestly of their perspective of the "issue" that sparked this documentary, which starts off seemingly about the marriage of Sarah's parents, actors Michael Polley and the long deceased Diane Polley. Sarah's four siblings and her father talk about the issue as a long held family joke that started casually when Sarah was thirteen. Michael also provides a self-written monologue about the issue. That issue ultimately comes to light as the documentary progresses, and which affects Sarah and Michael the most among the living family members. But as that issue does come to light, the question becomes whether the movie is or should be about the issue itself, or if it should be about the perception of interviewees through the stories they tell about the issue. Much will depend on how Sarah ultimately wants to frame the movie through her editing process.