Directed by Jeff Barnaby
In 1976, a Mi'gMaq teenager plots revenge against the sadistic Indian agent who imprisoned her in a residential school where rape and abuse are common.
Rimes pour revenants, Стишки для юных упырей, 年轻食尸鬼的赞歌, 라임즈 포 영 굴스, Comptines pour jeunes goules, 年輕食屍鬼的贊歌
CanadaR 
USAR Canada USA 
Violence against the oppressors is VERY cool and good.
a violent history means a painful present: "rhymes for young ghouls" explores the plight of canadian indigenous people, in this case, a mi’gmaq community in 1976 (and briefly in 1969).
set on residential land known as "the kingdom of crow", the film juxtaposes the breathtaking beauty of the forested landscape with the endless violence and poverty of the community's lives. the protagonist is a young woman named aila who lost her brother, mother, and father all within hours when she was a mere child: one via accident; one through suicide; and the other to prison, though her father returns for a short while. these simultaneous and profound losses, as she says, aged her "a 1000 years," and she grows up…
A great example of how color palette can feed atmosphere, this film, set in late October, takes the Canadian forests' autumnal hues and makes it fit every scene, in lighting, in costume, in set design, and lets that define the mood. There's an underlying creepiness that's supported by visions of the dead and the signifiers of cold (clothing, bare trees, lighting); there's an overwhelming weight to the film supported by the subject matter (specific actions taken during a genocide). The pacing of the film feels a little bit off as it switches gears from drama to heist film toward the end, but the bittersweet satisfaction of the ending counters that flaw nicely. You want that monster--this symbol of white supremacy,…
the future of our canadian cinema is in the hands of indigenous filmmakers
really fucking good. but as someone who worked for one of those shitty online captioning companies, i would just like to say fuck you! to whoever captioned this because it was really sloppy work; like to omit several native names and even mi’kmaq itself as [inaudible] instead of doing the most basic research is so fucking disrespectful and indicative of how deeply pervasive settler-colonialism is. anyway. kawennáhere devery jacobs is absolutely formidable in this. watch the movie.
This made me sad for my great grandmother, and also enraged at her oppressors that “beat the native out of her” in residential school. She lived to be 100 years old and believed herself to be a white catholic until the day she died. The following generations didn’t have the chance to connect much with their indigenous roots. It’s people like my dad, my great uncle Bill, and artists like Jeff Barnaby that have taught me to be proud to be Anishinaabe, and helped me to reclaim my culture.
Rest in peace Jeff, we were robbed of you in your prime. Your inspiration lives on.
Rhymes for Young Ghouls won't show itself to be an easy watch, but Jeff Barnaby also creates something beautifully poignant in this picture of life within a residential school. But as Barnaby incorporates the supernatural elements into this narrative, it becomes a thoughtful picture of how the disturbing history of the treatment of Indigenous people can remain intact.
The film is hampered from its short running time, considering how much it's willing to explore simultaneously, and I'm not sure that Barnaby's sudden shifts in tone work in his favour, but I'm glad that this was something I came around to viewing.
There have been many films that attempt to tackle racism from the perspective of the targeted minority groups, a few (very few) have even dealt with Native Americans, though I think Rhymes for Young Ghouls might be the first to do so from a (relatively) modern perspective. The plot is honestly nothing special, following a young Mi'kmaq girl named Aila who deals drugs to bribe her way out of the local Catholic school, she finds herself in a mess when the cops steal her money. The rather ho-hum material is elevated greatly by the setting of a Canadian reservation, weaving into the crime narrative tidbits of traditional lore and legend, giving the story a grand, timeless feel. Additionally, the film's…
Before going full genre film with Blood Quantum, director Jeff Barnaby made this energetic and stylish Mi'kmaq-centered drama. Threaded with pulpy elements - crime, caper, gore, ghosts - yet at its core, Rhymes For Young Ghouls is a grim story set against the backdrop of cultural genocide and generational trauma wrought by Canada’s residential schools and Indian agents. The various tonal/genre shifts don’t all comfortably fit together, the pace often feels too abrupt for the many narrative beats Barnaby is exploring, but the drama’s bleak anger is always incredibly raw and potent. The indigenous cast is uniformly strong, with fierce young lead Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs as the show-stealing star. She’s a riveting screen presence who I’m glad to see getting more work (most recently in Reservation Dogs).
Also cool to see Barnaby had zombies on the brain well before making his zombie movie.
canada's been having a bit of a reckoning with the horrors that took place on residential schools, but most people still don't realize just how raw this all is. my roommate's a young guy, around 24. his grandma has stories about hiding from indian agents in the attic, armed with a frying pan in case they catch her.
this is one of those movies i admire a lot more than i actually enjoyed watching, but it had some good scenes of indian agents getting what they deserve, which is all i really needed at the moment
edit: rip jeff barnaby. we'll always remember what you did for indigenous cinema
Sometimes I wonder how different my life would have turned out as a half-Native woman if I was born on a reservation instead of in the city, if I was born to two Native parents rather than just the one, or if I was born back when residential schools were a thing. The resemblance between myself as a teenager and Devery Jacobs in this is striking, as I’m part Mohawk like she is, so I can’t help but wonder about these things.
This country’s history with its Indigenous peoples is rough, to put it mildly. It looks like this film predates the 2015 report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada on the Indian Residential School system. I remember…
Decided that now was the time to watch this flick. The aftermath and hurt from residential schools runs deep and this film doesn't hold back. All my love to my Indigenous family around the world, alive or at peace ❤️
