The Alchemist Cookbook; Al Purdy Was Here
THE ALCHEMIST COOKBOOK drama/horror, 82 minutes, not rated, 3 chiles
Sean (Ty Hickson) is a loner who has retreated from the world, occupying his time with research into the supernatural in a cabin in the woods. But he is no Van Helsing — he may, in fact, be completely delusional. When he first appears on camera, Sean could be constructing a bomb and planning acts of civil disobedience, even terrorism. That is what the filmmakers probably want you to think, but The Alchemist Cookbook toys with expectations. Hickson does an impressive job portraying a man who may have lost his grip on reality, playing Sean as fully aware of his predicament but unable to avoid succumbing to it. It’s an actor’s tour de force. In a scene that seems inspired by the idea of a magician conjuring demons, he sees an apparition by his campfire. It’s left to the audience to decide if the phantom is real or a figment of Sean’s diseased mind. If it’s real, it changes the entire meaning of what we think we’ve been watching. Maybe Sean is a modern-day Van Helsing after all. — M.A. Violet Crown, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20; 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21; 12:45 p.m. Oct. 23
AL PURDY WAS HERE documentary, 90 minutes, not rated, 4 chiles
A memorial statue of free verse poet Al Purdy in Toronto’s Queen’s Park has its own Twitter account, @statueofalpurdy, that tweets Purdy-like observations of the statue’s surroundings, such as “Woman in all white carrying a new mop.” It is a quiet tribute to a man with a foghorn voice and a big personality, Canada’s unofficial poet laureate and winner of two Governor General’s Awards. Al Purdy Was Here, a documentary about Purdy’s life and the restoration of the A-frame