With a blend of humor and tenderness, Martin Villeneuve steps into the shoes of his centenarian grandmother in "The 12 Tasks of Imelda." He dons her outfits, impersonates her voice, crafting a poignant tribute to a larger-than-life character. Imelda, a figure embodying humanity's many contradictions, is simultaneously despised and profoundly loved by those close to her. Time, old age, and the whims of the present have conspired to overshadow the loves, heartaches, and dramas of yesteryear, letting them slowly fade into oblivion. Villeneuve, much like Alejandro Jodorowsky in "The Dance of Reality," takes on the roles of both filmmaker and lead actor to breathe life into Imelda, facilitating a final reconciliation with her kin. Through this almost cathartic act, Villeneuve tends to the past, achieving a vision of almost endless poetry. This self-produced feature, constructed from several stories, manages to captivate with its apparent simplicity and the hues of everyday life. Its playful and do-it-yourself nature, reminiscent of a watercolor dollhouse, at times draws parallels to Wes Anderson's cinematic aesthetics. As stage director Robert Lepage aptly expressed in a 2017 interview for CBC, "one must reveal the personal in order to reach the universal." This is precisely what Martin Villeneuve accomplishes in this nine-year creative endeavor that is "The 12 Tasks of Imelda." One can't help but be drawn into the memories of our ancestors, extracting the poetry that illuminated their lives, alternately brilliant and shadowy. Perhaps, as suggested in this movie, we should try on our grandmothers' dresses to better understand the experiences that shaped them.
