The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom - Review

Right off the top, I need to get something off my chest. I was, in fact, not a huge fan of Dolly Parton at the beginning of the week. This has since changed. Between her massive support of the film, her real life generous spirit, and the on-screen subtle reminder that she writes ALL of her songs, I am now a fan with a capital F!



Canadian film turns my crank for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because we are REALLY good at making movies, and secondly, because I absolutely love seeing Canadian landscapes and hearing regional speech dialects from across Canada. Both of my loves were present in the film The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom, written and directed by Montreal filmmaker Tara Johns.

It’s a story about a young girl, Elizabeth (played by Julia Stone) who accidentally discovers, at the tender age of 11, that she is adopted. After searching for any trail of her birth family, Elizabeth takes hold of the idea that she is the long lost child of Dolly Parton. Luckily, Dolly is soon going to be just a few hours South of the border in Minnesota for a concert, and if Elizabeth can just meet her, then maybe she can finally be reunited with her “real mom”.



The story is set in an unnamed prairie town (with hints of Manitoba), and features its beautiful, flat, vast terrain; as well one of my top favourite birds of all time – the noble Magpie!



With family relations and abandonment as main components of the story, I have to admit that I walked into the cinema with a pretty good idea of what was going to happen. I was close, but there were several unexpected moments throughout the film that made it stand out from the average "coming-of-age" movie. The relationship development between Elizabeth and her adoptive mother, Marion (played by Macha Grenon) was completely original, and yet universal. There is one particular moment of honesty (which you will have to watch the movie to understand) that really levels the playing field for both Elizabeth and Marion. It reminded me of the importance of allowing myself to see people, particularly my own mother, in a different light.

The honest portrayal of young girls was another much-appreciated factor. The truth that we sometimes shy away from is that life for the average pre-teen is pretty rough. Friends can be fair-weather at best, enemies can be downright brutal, and parents can be in need of a little growing up themselves. I love it when filmmakers have the skill to remind us of these harsh memories we like to tuck away, and Tara Johns’ debut feature hit the bull’s-eye.

Time is running out to see this film. There may only be one or two theatres in town still screening it (Sigh - Canadian film distribution limitations), but the ongoing blog (HERE) by the director is pretty swell too!