Award-winning Canadian-Jamaican director Charles Officer presents a passionate observation of the Greater Toronto housing crisis in Unarmed Verses. The film takes a heart-wrenching look at a low-income ethnic community’s struggle in the looming threat of becoming displaced due to condo development.
In the movie, one 12-year-old girl from the Caribbean island of Antigua is followed through her daily life in the Villaways housing complex. The opening scene’s camera angles, zooms, and focus-shift choices make for a strong cinematographic feat. The vulnerability of the poor, the simplistic beauty of their lives, and the resilience of their characters is captured well.
Officer does an excellent job depicting a candid, raw view of the lower class in the Greater Toronto suburbs. The Villaways kids largely generate the music in the film as they learn recording skills and develop the confidence to create and perform their own lyrics. Narrative poetry, music, and silence are each used at different times to show the real identity of the people in the community and make their lives more relatable.
While it’s very unique and artistically shot, this film also helps communicate the suffering and anxiety of the members of the Villaways community. There is an obvious theme of racism throughout the film, and this comes through in the honest narration of the 12-year-old girl. The vulnerability of those of ethnic backgrounds is clearly taken advantage of by those in power as they attempt to displace these people.
The children in this community display stunning talent, and it’s captured in an effective way to show the heart of those struggling in this movie. Officer is not afraid of presenting the harshness of reality in this Toronto suburb; he shows the good and bad within humanity through this unique, moving film.