Fortunate Son

Sometimes, the camera can be the eyes through which you look at your own life. Filmmaker Tony Asimakopoulos uses the lens to examine not only his past and present, but also his parents and friends, and his relationships with them. In this self-assured film, Asimakopoulos gains new and painful insights that transport him to a less illustrious time in his life: when a drug-fuelled depression led him to the edge of total self-destruction. But things are going well for him now. After the introductory collage of old photos that provide a history of his parents' lives, he asks in voice-over whether he is a good son. What follows is an audiovisual investigation aimed at answering that question. Asimakopoulos creates series of evocative and associative images. Some of them are freestanding stream-of-consciousness sequences, while others underpin the voice-over. The other elements - the student films featuring spiteful reenacted family scenes, the old photos from family albums, and the snapshots in time - all feed into this investigative and experimental presentation on his position in a loving three-member family that is nevertheless wrought by fear, anger, and destructive negativity.