It’s not every day that a phone call with a close relative is abruptly ended by the sound of the prison’s dial tone indicating that the time is up.
In Pinocchio, director André-Line Beauparlant deals with a troublesome brother whom she can barely trust in a film that challenges just how far family ties can stretch before they break.
The film begins with Éric, Beauparlant’s brother, stuck in a Brazilian jail. Beauparlant has received a phone call from a Canadian living in Brazil that claims that Éric has scammed him out of something valuable and that he will be pressing charges if he is not paid. Éric, a self-confessed conman and sociopath with an aptitude for creating intricate lies, is apparently wanted in five different countries for the same type of ordeal. The thing is, at face value, he seems like a likeable free spirit that wants to travel the world, unattached to any place or person.
But throughout the film, the façade slowly cracks as Beauparlant paints a slow portrait of who her brother really is. As the accounts of his fraud pile up, it becomes more and more difficult to believe anything he says to the camera. It is apparent that there is a much darker side to Éric and his past, but we only get to see glimpses of it, as Beauparlant doesn’t pry as much as she could have.
The only people left to be affected by Éric’s actions are his family. Despite his relatives constantly debating whether or not to support him or to cut him off completely, he is still always on their mind. The bond between Beauparlant and her brother is very strong; their faces light up when they see each other. Beauparlant even includes old home movies from their childhood to contrast with their current relationship. The film accurately describes a family that is struggling to still put love above everything else.
Despite some unanswered questions and a blurry timeline, Pinocchio is an interesting look at what constitutes a person’s character and the secrets they might hold. This film will make you doubt the sincerity of every person you’ve ever met.
