Just an Illusion (2022) Film Review
When it comes to experimental films, sometimes that wide categorization calls for some excess to be justified. Experiments can be taken too far, and with this kind of reach, the risk is inherent. And even if sometimes things work the best, there are times where the target is missed. It feels fake, manipulated, and ultimately unnecessary. In documentary territory the risk is higher.
Just an Illusion is an example of how film as a medium can work as the perfect channel for telling stories that wouldn’t seem so interesting in any other place. In this film, a family begins a journey that doesn’t seem crucial first-hand. This is a river adventure that doesn’t follow an unrevealed catharsis or a journey for characters to find themselves in the customary existential crossroads that the documentary can work well with.
The Meyers are a regular family that have the opportunity to go on a decade-long trip that will shed light on the best (and perhaps worst) of their relationship. A father and his four sons will face the many drawbacks of a sailing trip that isn’t sponsored by a big studio or edited together to allow for a happy ending.
Jay Meyers is behind the camera. He’s one of the sons, and part of the crew, that takes the Meyers towards cruddy waters and dark nights where their boat fails and they’re forced to fight the unexpected. Meyers doesn’t do much to take his film to a specific direction. Using archive footage, and current testimonials, the film tells a family story that’s based on the resilience of a father who uses this very particular opportunity to connect with his sons. He will teach them to be men, but they will teach him to lead on a certain path that isn’t very common, nor as cinematic as I thought.
It’s easy to discard Just an Illusion because it’s so experimental, it doesn’t need to thrive on over-dramatic territories to make us feel connected with characters. I’m sure some viewers will decide this first-hand. But to each their own. This very small and experimental documentary is an opportunity to reflect by channeling on a story that’s as human as the next conversation you will have with your family. We all wish we had the opportunity to go on a small sailboat and recreate the relationship with our parents.
Just an Illusion allows that and more. An 11-year trip that’s told with as many flashbacks as we need to know where the Meyers come from, but with enough testimonials to understand their place on an adventure that will call for the best of them to make an appearance. Talk about anecdote material.
