HOTDOCS 2020: Love and Stuff
HOTDOCS2020Director/Producer Judith Helfland brings us an intensely personal documentary about her struggles with grief, motherhood and letting things go. Despite the weighty material, Love and Stuff is a surprisingly uplifting film and certainly one that deserves to find a wide audience.
There’s arguably a documentary to be made about each the experiences that Helfland has been through here, as the film deftly moves from dealing with cancer at a young age, grief at the loss of a parent, on to struggles with weight and the pressures of adopting a child later in life, but no one element ever seems to dominate or outstay its welcome and the film remains consistently engaging throughout.
Helfland should be applauded for just how personal this material is, she is not afraid to share emotion with the camera and it really adds weight to the material. The audience is given access to her inner most feelings, doubts and fears; this openness with the camera really generates a connection with the viewer that is key to the success of the film.
What is perhaps most impressive about Love and Stuff is its ability not to weigh the audience down with emotion, there are some hard moments here that would certainly knock any person for six but the film never gets bogged down trying to trigger a response. There is deft of hand to the filmmaking style that keeps the tone balanced and the documentary remains enjoyable even when it touches on harder subjects.
The score should be praised as well: it’s powerful enough to have impact when it needs to but subtle enough not to get in the way and drown out the emotion already present on screen, yet another example of just how well balanced this film is.
Love and Stuff is a not only deeply personal and a brave expression of one’s self on screen but an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable documentary at the same time. It is not easy to put yourself in front of the camera or to turn that experience into an engaging film, but Judith Helfland has managed both with aplomb.
