The personal camera has evolved so much it’s unrecognizable from its first conception. Professional mirror less cameras, cell phone cameras and the death of celluloid; are they used the same way they were initially intended for? These days we seem to be pulling out our pocket cameras for every unique moment, every unique scene, concert, event, person, dog, cat, supper or rare selfie moment. Are we capturing too much and if we are, is it all losing its luster? When Super 8 and 16mm first hit the scene, our parents recognized an opportunity to capture memories that they could appreciate for years to come. Perhaps the home movie was appreciated more because it was planned, there was a process to it and it usually evolved around family or a trip. I feel like the art and idea of home movies has been lost to technology and our advancement of convenience.
Taking a step back 40-50 years to see why home movies were the talk of the town can only be understood by watching one, but not just any home movie; one that has been curated, edited and narrated by an award winning filmmaker. Actor/writer/director Ross Munro and his producer partner Maria Munro are known for past films, A Legacy of Whining, Brewster McGee and Broken Palace. Their latest film, European Tour ’73 brings the home movie back much like an old friend you hadn’t recognized in years. I grew up with watching 8 mm films when I was much younger and before technology took the symbolism of it away, so it was extremely refreshing to see a film created from 8 mm with a new pair of legs.
European Tour ’73 has been resurrected from Ross Munro’s parents 8 mm reels containing footage of ‘their trip to Europe in 1973’. When I first began watching this film, my initial thought was, ‘how will Ross engage me throughout this film about his parents with 5 children touring Europe?’ It wasn’t long after that thought that my answer arrived. Without giving away the golden nuggets and heart of this film, I will recommend watching the trailer to enjoy an appetizer of this tasty main course. I will mention that this film is filled with iconic and historic locations, globs of interesting information, outstanding narration that engages you like a familiar foe and multiple formats of media that add a cherry to the entire project. The film will be premiering later this month, June 21 on the ‘now online’ Oakville Film Festival. Please watch the trailer below from the festival or the Youtube link.
https://watch.eventive.org/offaonline2020/play/5eb9e39b2045a2003029621e/5eb7753c318b2d003deea687
A father fulfills his dream of reconnecting his five small children to the steps of his own father when he fought for the Canadian military in WWII through a trip to Europe in 1973.
Ross and I had spoken a few years ago when he made A Legacy of Whining, so it was a thrill to catch up and talk about his latest film European Tour ’73.
“You made an amazing little film that married so well with the music. Did you use a composer?”
“Because of all the mood frames and different time’s/era’s in the film, we knew it would be difficult to find a composer that could nail all of those changes. I ended up looking for different kinds of music/stock music that was available that could replicate the 1970’s, other era’s and different mood changes. I wanted to find the right music that was evocative of my grandfather’s past fighting in World War II. I wrote and composed for the closing/end credits only. That was the only original piece of music I recorded from my acoustic.”
If you get the opportunity to watch this film, the music is as important as the choice of wine with your turkey dinner and Ross absolutely nails it.
“I felt like this film played like one continuous poem. Are you a fan of poetry?”
“Yes I am a fan of poetry and it’s funny you say that because on my previous short film, Broken Palace the narration was one long poem. We used it to create the emotional links to images of old movie theatres being destroyed and disappearing. I didn’t consciously intend to make it like a poem but there were definitely passages, such as my grandfathers past in the war, where I broke down a lot of segments and tried to be a little more poetic with the music and the words, so you’re right.”
“What spawned the idea for this great little film and when did that happen?”
“It happened about 4 yrs. ago when Maria and I were trying to come up with another idea for a documentary after Broken Palace. My dad had died and I had all this old Super 8 footage that he shot when we all went to Europe in ’73. It was initially to reflect on his memory and warm thoughts. After awhile though, I thought, ‘maybe there’s a story in that.’ The more I went through it, the more I got the idea for European Tour ’73 and connecting the footage. I started digging more into my family and began to realize that there were more reasons behind that trip than I had originally thought about. It started to really evolve as an interesting family story at that point and I felt like there was something here to move forward on.”
“When you narrated the film you were able to include so many vivid details. Was that all from your own memories?”
“Yes, I had to recall all of those memories.”
“Where does this film rank amongst personal achievements?”
“That’s a very good question because I believe with a lot of filmmakers, they look at their films like their children but there’s also a lot of focus, worry and anxiety that go into everyone’s latest film. Obviously I like all my films but with this being the most recent and most personal in terms of family, family legacy and all the generations within it, I feel like it’s a summation of things I’ve touched on in other films. For me, this is the most profoundly personal film that looks back at an experience that my family had. I made it knowing that both my parents are no longer living but while I was making it my older brother passed away also. It makes it that much more special because he was a big supporter of our films and I never would’ve anticipated that he wouldn’t be around to see it once it was finished. With all those personal experiences within the film and what I went through with my family, this film has the most personal meaning for me overall.”
“When can the public expect to see this film?”
“The film actually has its premiere online on June 21st as part of the Oakville Film Festival in Canada. Because of Covid-19 most of the film festivals are pivoting to an online virtual film festival. Our film will be available online for 24 hours all over North America that can be accessed for a small fee. We have another festival coming up after that in Palm Springs, The American Documentary Film Festival that we were suppose to attend in March was moved to the end of September. We’re waiting on news from other festivals as well.”
“The film almost plays like a history lesson because there is so much good information on every historic landmark you travel to. Was that on purpose?”
“As a filmmaker I didn’t want to just tell a family story, I also wanted to make it a homage to documentaries on history while making it a fun nostalgic documentary, indicative of the ‘70’s. It has multiple levels with the family/grandfathers/dad story with the sheer joy of experiencing a nostalgic travel documentary that brings you to iconic landmarks.”
“Where did the idea come from to include animation?”
“When Maria and I started to make this 4 years ago I brought it to the National Film Board and spent 1 ½ years initially developing the film with them. One of the elements I really wanted in this film was a multi media mix including animation. We were really fortunate to find local animator/illustrator Dylan Moore. I would design the storyboards and he would do a fantastic job creating the animation. I wanted it to be a fast moving ride where the audience gets to see all different aspects of the story as told through different forms of filmmaking.”
“When you wrote the narration, did it feel like writing a script?”
“We did follow a script structure because there were so many different pieces, so many different stories and aspects of that time and place with so many threads. To keep track of all the moving parts, it was necessary to maintain that structure to keep it organized and to keep the stories flowing in a way that works well together. I wanted to make the narration brisk and breezy, humorous and nostalgic. Finding the right tone for the narration was one of the more difficult parts of making this film.”
“You have a great voice for narration, have you ever considered voice over work?”
“Believe it or not, I wasn’t even going to narrate it and had considered finding an actor or performer with a bigger identity. However, the more I looked at the film when we were editing it, it became evident that it needed that personal element from someone that experienced it and looking back in hindsight, it would’ve been a missed opportunity if I hadn’t.”
“How did you transfer all of the Super 8 footage?”
“That was all done early in the process when we were working with the NFB. It was all transferred into high definition digital format and digitally enhanced to its purest form, to bring out the best picture quality possible.”
Goodtime Questions;
“If you could take a hot air balloon ride over any area in the world, where would it be?”
“I would say Venezuela and not just because Maria is from there. It has the Angel Falls, beautiful ocean and beaches, the Amazon jungle and the Andes Mountains. In one country you’d experience so much beauty and splendor, that’s almost prehistoric in a sense.”
“If you could travel to the deepest part of the ocean for a day in a submersible or the opportunity to orbit the earth from space for a day, what would you choose?”
“I would definitely orbit the earth, 100 percent. I grew up with the lunar landing and the first steps on the moon with Apollo. There was recently the 50th anniversary of that and every time I see documentary footage on it, I always think it would be mind blowing to experience that. To be able to orbit the earth would be incredible.”
“Do you still own a projector and super 8mm camera?”
“I still have the original projector my family bought in ’73 and it still works. If you notice at the beginning of the film, there’s a montage of my family’s trip, where you can see the leader and white screen before the movie starts; that was actually projected and filmed off my wall. Unfortunately, I no longer have the camera anymore; it was passed around from family member to family member and I don’t even know what happened to it.”
This is a very cool and unique 15-minute film that deserves all the accolades that come from it. If you’ve been to Europe you might also appreciate all the historic landmarks and music in the film. Another great Canadian film made out of memories, heart, devotion and passion.