O'Siem
1996 · 53m · Canada
Directed by Gillian Darling
Genres: biography, documentary
Tones: contemplative, tender
Gene Harry, a First Nations minister, foster father, dragon boat champion and Eagle Spirit Dancer, is portrayed as a spiritual healer whose words carry weight in his community.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
A reverential portrait of a spiritual leader that plays it completely straight—which is exactly why it doesn't work on me; I'm waiting for the film to interrogate its own hagiography, and it never does.
Darling's approach to biographical documentary sits squarely in the observational tradition of the NFB's best work, letting Gene Harry's presence and community anchor the film with formal restraint rather than editorializing.
The film's power lives in those quiet moments where Harry moves between roles—minister to dancer to healer—and Darling holds the frame long enough to let you feel the weight of that navigation rather than cutting away.