Sugarcane

A simmering, slow burn of a doco that gradually lays out the horrific histories of sexual abuse at an educational institution; specific to this particular incident, but of course it’s easy to apply this universally to the various patterns of abuse within the Catholic Church that have emerged in recent years. While it is occasionally a little patchy and vague as to the specifics of how the organisation was run (resulting in occasional sleepiness in the first half), its real strength is in the harrowing first-person testimonies from survivors, who do such a great and powerful job that they weaken the sometimes more dry forensic aspects. Film also does a fine job of grappling with the ultimate impossibility of atoning for this degree of monstrousness, with Trudeau and Pope Francis’ appearances relatively sincere, but presented as fairly empty stabs at reconciliation.