Some of the best family stories are the ones that border on the edge between reality and fantasy. With so many storytellers in my family telling and rehashing family events, one has to question the validity of the tales being told. One story I remember hearing had to do with a great uncle of mine. Furious at a nephew who was mistreating another nephew of his, my great uncle broke into the house of his nephew, catching him in the middle of taking a bath. It did not stop my great uncle. He went right up to him, pointed a gun at his head and told him to leave the other nephew alone. My great uncle turned around and walked out of the bathroom, leaving the frightened nephew sitting in a ever expanding pool of yellowed water. Now how much of that was true, I will never know. Truthfulness aside, I love the use of story telling to pass down a family’s history through each generation. Oscar nominated writer/director Sally Polley (Mr. Nobody, Dawn of the Dead) had a gold mine of family stories to sift through in making this remarkable documentary. Using actual footage and reenactments of family events alongside interviews with family and friends, the film was not your typical documentary; it played like a good dramedy with a wild story. Sally’s mother was a colorful Canadian celebrity which I found funny when compared to Sally’s deadpan style of interviewing. It was fascinating to see where the line of questions started and where they wound up taking Sally and her family, delving into the history of the rumors and tales each had heard growing up. As I watched this movie I was reminded of a children’s game called “Telephone.” It is a game where a group of kids sit in a circle and one child whispers a message into the next child’s ear. Then each proceeding child whispers the message to the next one until the message makes its way back to the first child’s ear. The message always evolved into something else as it was whispered along. I was thoroughly entertained by Sally and her family. If for no other reason than to listen to another family’s story.

3 1/2 stars