‘At the Place of Ghosts’ TIFF Review – Indigenous Thriller Boasts Strong Visuals, But a Slight Narrative

There’s a mystery at the heart of Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At The Place of Ghosts), a Canadian Indigenous thriller about a pair of Mi’kmaw brothers who have been separated for most of their adult lives.

Filmmaker Bretten Hannam‘s film opens with young versions of the pair: Mise’l (Skyler Cope), the older brother, is driving, while the younger brother Antle (Atuen MacIsaac) hyperventilates in the passenger seat. They’re impossibly young to be out alone on the highway, and the bloody knuckles suggests that the film has begun in media res.

This incident isn’t explicitly addressed again for most of the film’s running time, but attentive viewers won’t have difficulty identifying the trauma the brothers have experienced as children and how it has been carried over into adulthood. 

The main body of the text follows adult Mise’l (Blake Alec Miranda), a queer cook in the city who ventures back to the small town where Antle (Forrest Goodluck) still lives. This isn’t an altruistic attempt at reconciliation, however; Mise’l has had a violent encounter with a threatening spirit* at work that has dangerous implications for both brothers. The (re)appearance of this spirit is clear evidence of their unfinished business, as well as a call to adventure.

* The creature design is both beautiful and haunting: the human-like figure looks as though it is made of ash and its touch leaves a poisonous burn wherever it touches somebody.

While Mise’l has a male partner in the city, it’s clear that he’s living an untethered life, cut off from his family (the location isn’t specified, but the film was shot in – and the Mi’kmaq people are primarily located on – Canada’s east coast). 

Unlike Mise’l, Antle has retained his connection to community. He’s a single father with a cute daughter and a certain measure of job security. When Mise’l shows up at his door after more than a decade, however, both their lives are uprooted and the pair must set out on a quest to find a cave deep in the woods and heal their respective scars.

It’s clear early on what the brothers are contending with and the use of repeated flashbacks lays bare a history of childhood abuse. Like many Indigenous stories, however, At The Place of Ghosts is less interested in telling a traditional narrative (ie: a puzzle box story with a twist reveal) than it is about going on a journey with the characters.