2022 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
In the Jam Jar is an up close and personal account of Joan’s (France Castel) last days on earth as she replays her greatest moments, her hardships, and the rocky relationship with her son, Dan (Alain Goulem). It also sees Dan recounting that same relationship with Joan. As the two express their thoughts, individually, not together, all that they are and aspired to be rise to the surface.
Cinematographer Natan B. Foisy and writer-director Colin Nixon make a unique decision to film In the Jam Jar, in its entirety, using circle frame. This is a technique that I’ve not seen very often in film, but it plays a pivotal role in the reception of the film. Seeing this perfect circle existing in the middle of the rectangular frame forces the focus of viewers to the often singular subject on screen. Joan painting, a jar being filled with jam, and other things fill the entirety of that aforementioned circle, and viewers have no choice but to focus on that one thing. Early on it becomes clear that the cinematography present in In the Jam Jar isn’t just precise, it’s perfect.
That beautiful cinematography folds into the narrative and plays a pivotal role in what Joan and Dan are attempting to express. Seemingly just as important as helping viewers focus on a subject, it helps viewers understand the sentiments being exuded by Joan and Dan. Viewers are able to understand that, throughout the entirety of In the Jam Jar, the characters are attempting to express that the things they let slip away were actually the most important, and had the mother and son communicated, their lives would have been very different. It’s important to hold those that you consider dear as close as possible, and the cinematography illustrates this very clearly and with great purpose.
There’s lots of talk about jam, terrible paintings, and metal detectors–and on the surface, some of what’s being said throughout In the Jam Jar seems a tad silly. However, each of these aforementioned topics plays some sort of role in Joan’s understanding of Dan or vice versa. As the memories pour from characters’ mouths the heavy emotional impact that these things have on those characters land on the ears of viewers. In these moments, as I began to understand the miscommunication between mother and son, the role that each played in the other’s life, I felt emotionally connected. Not only did I feel this connection, my heart felt heavy. All of the sudden I knew these characters, I knew what it was like to feel this way, and I was unable to escape the crippling grasp of all that they said. That bond created between viewer and film is impeccable, and it lends itself to a wildly positive reception of Nixon’s film.
In the Jam Jar is so emotionally and culturally relevant. I often find emotion in film and latch onto it–as I find this aspect of filmmaking to often be the most important, but the power behind the words in In the Jam Jar are debilitating, paralyzing, because each and every word is honest and true. Through the perfect cinematography, the phenomenal acting of Castel and Goulem, and the impeccably relevant emotional pull of Nixon’s writing, In the Jam Jar has become one of my favorite films this year.
Written & Directed by Colin Nixon.
Starring France Castel, Alain Goulem, Martin Stone, Noé Daigneault, Martine Laroche, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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