Spending the night at CINSSU’s Free Friday Films

I was really looking forward to watching 112 Weddings directed by Doug Block, a documentary filmmaker who shoots wedding videos on the side. Block couldn’t help but get attached to the couples he would film, but after the wedding festivities were complete, so was his role in their lives. Attempting something new, Block decided to create a documentary—cinema vérité style—to expose the truth behind the facades we live in by tracking down couples he filmed from years ago and observing their lives post-wedding.

Hollywood romances have always glorified marriage. Even though most people know the common statistic that half of all marriages in divorce, people such as myself can’t help but think marriage entails a happily ever after. True to cinema vérité, Block delves into the lives of married couples and asks if marriage down the road is the same as the expectations they had when they first wed.

Many couples he featured have indeed remained together. However, through hilarious anecdotes like “it’s all good until shit hits the fan, ” the audience is able to witness that marriage is not as perfectly glorious as Hollywood rom-coms portray it to be. Some couples found difficulties in their marriage when dealing with new family routines, and through the raising of children, it’s revealed to the audience that life and marriage will throw many curveballs at individuals. However, the key to a lasting marriage is compromise and understanding, and if you are able to learn this, there’s a good chance your marriage will have a stable future.

In the documentary, it is also revealed that some marriages face additional strains and are more prone to being fragile, such as those with emotional traumas that are brought on by issues like medical sickness that tend to contribute considerable pressures on relationships. In times of ill health, we see the detrimental effects that withdrawing can have on a partner and a family. In heart wrenching times like these, partners have to truly grasp the importance of open communication. People talk all the time but they don’t always communicate.

Overall, the film remained candid and laid down the bare truth that marriages don’t always work out. When they do, it’s almost always because of the hard work and compromise put in by both parties.  Exposing the harsh realities of marriage also effectively reveals how wonderful it can be when the union is based on unconditional love and respect, and not ownership and materiality. This feel-good movie is not one that you can just watch mind numbingly; it gets you to think and revaluate your life, goals and happiness. The smaller venue and the intimate crowd made it an even more of an enjoyable experience. CINSSU always picks interesting movies to screen and after a long day or a hard exam, Free Friday Films are one great way to relax.

Featured image courtesy of  Doug Block