Sugarcane (2024)

This is what generational trauma looks like. This impactful, multistranded documentary weaves together a dogged investigation into the horrific crimes perpetrated against generations of Indigenous children at a residential school run by the Catholic church in Canada, with accounts of the trickle-down of damage, from grandparents to parents to children. Specifically, children were raped, beatened and killed. The rapes produced babies, who were mostly incinerated. In the midst of uncovering what happened, which involved a detailed record review, ground penetrating radar to find unmarked graves, and in one case, DNA testing that revealed the father of one native elder to be a specific priest. The pervasive feeling of shame and being inferior, being unworthy of love are the legacy of the survivors of the residential schools throughout the Americas. It’s a remarkably courageous and exposed work, particularly for co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat and his father, Ed Archie NoiseCat, whose painful journey together in search of healing is the film’s spine. The sickening facts of the case are presented with a respectful restraint but it’s impossible to watch this and not feel a cold, hard rage on behalf of the victims. The Catholic church does not come off well, either in the past, or currently--they do nothing to atone for their sins, including not confessing them. This is streaming on Disney and is well done and well told.