Tumultuous times can test the bonds of families, because as they are perhaps forced to escape their homes, it may also tear the family unit apart. It is due to circumstance some people have to leave in order to be safe and therefore sacrifice the company of those ones who are very dear to them, which is a story that has been told in many nations and cultures. During a research project, Burmese director Aye Chan stumbled upon one such story as she encountered two women, mother and daughter, telling her about their husband/father who was forced to go underground in the aftermath of the civil war in the 1980s. In her short documentary “The Father I Knew” Aye Chan tells their story, but also, with the use of archival footage and still photos, tries to follow the traces of this man who suddenly disappeared and was never hear from again.
“The Father I Knew” is screening at Filmschoolfest Munich
Essentially Chan’s documentary, over the course of its roughly fifteen minutes of running time, follows two axes. At first, the two women she interviews recount the hardships during the time of civil war and the student protest, of which their husband/father was one of the key figures. While the historical angle defines the first part, the second is about the present, the search for him as well as the heritage he has left behind, the sense of responsibility for others and the confidence in fighting for a just cause.
As mentioned before, the use of archival footage highlights the family unit, but also the kind of decision the husband/father had to face at one point. Given the circumstances, the viewer can only imagine, much like the two women, what he must have been going through at the time, leaving his loved ones behind for a journey with an open end. At the same time, the memory lives on, in these images and in the urge to help those who experience a similar situation, which is what his wife and daughter have been doing for quite some time now.
“The Father I Knew” tells a story about a family torn apart by war, but also about the search for a father which has brought them closer together again. Aye Chan manages to create a fascinating, but also quite touching story about the memory of a person being just as strong as the ideals they stood for.
