Aardvark

Aardvark (2010) is a profound exploration of the human condition, focusing on the themes of recovery, friendship, and obsession. Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the film stars Larry Lewis Jr., Darren Branch, and Jessica Elizabeth Cole and is a unique mixture of both fiction and documentary. At its core, Aardvark provides viewers with a raw and authentic portrayal of real-life individuals and events within a film that blurs the boundaries between actuality and narrative.

Set in the heart of Philadelphia, the story revolves around Larry Lewis Jr., a partially blind man recovering from alcoholism and attempting to live an ordinary life. Larry, played by himself, is a professional in-home caretaker working with a visually impaired client suffering from a daunting array of mental and physical challenges. This dual character setup gives the film an incredible authenticity, akin to a docudrama, allowing viewers to walk side-by-side with Larry as he navigates a world defined by varying degrees of visual impairment.

Darren Branch, a long-time friend of Larry, also stars in the film as himself. Branch’s character serves to illuminate the private world of combat and professional wrestling that Larry gravitates towards in his quest for normalcy and connection. Managing an amateur wrestling club, Darren introduces Larry to this fascinating underworld culture of wrestling, a sport both performers turn to for camaraderie, competition, and a sense of identity. Through this introduction, Larry encounters diverse characters, inviting viewers into a lesser-known world of camaraderie, tension, and physicality.

Jessica Elizabeth Cole, a trained actress, diverges from the documentary-style casting of Lewis and Branch. She appears as the film's sole professional actor, adding another layer of ambiguity to Aardvark's enigmatic narrative. Without giving away too much of the storyline, her character plays an integral part in the dynamic between Larry and Darren.

Throughout the film, we see Larry's world intricately woven through struggles, friendships, and interactions, showcasing marginal lives pushed to the periphery of urban existence. Larry's struggle to cope with the hand life has dealt him, coupled with Darren's unwitting immersion in a world of self-imposed seclusion, creates a delicate balance of reality and fiction that keeps viewers engaged.

Director Sakurai masterfully guides the narrative, toeing the line between documentary and fiction, often confusing the two and leaving the audience to grapple with what is real and what is enacted for the screen. Sakurai's distinctive style draws from his background in documentary filmmaking and his expertise in navigating naturalistic performances from non-actors. The film leaves viewers guessing as they piece together the fragments of Larry's storyline, teasing an unexpected twist without delivering a conclusive ending.

Aardvark's distinct approach to visual storytelling heavily leans into its theme of sight, offering viewers a raw look into the unique challenges the visually impaired face. The film uses unconventional camera angles, disrupts focus, and manipulates depth perception to mirror the visual experiences of its protagonists and plunge the audience into their disorienting world, mirroring their struggles and triumphs.

The film's grainy aesthetics and diegetic sound design contribute to the sense of realism enveloping the narrative while adding a layer of vulnerability to the urban landscapes Larry navigates. The wrestling sequences contrast with the calm everyday life scenes, employing rapid cutting and intense high-stakes sound design to effectively convey intense physicality and inner turmoil.

Aardvark, in essence, is a nuanced representation of friendship, determination, and the human struggle with adversity. Its dark yet heartwarming tale provides an intimate examination of characters that audiences rarely encounter in mainstream cinema. With its blend of realism, documentary style, and tender narrative, the film proves to be an evocative exploration of life, sight, independence, and the human need for connection. Though saturated with subtle realism, it is also a film that deals in uncertainty, pushing viewers to not merely watch but to truly observe and navigate the interplay of fiction and reality in the narrative. Aardvark is an engaging cinematic piece that bravely redefines the conventional boundaries of storytelling in film.