Oftentimes, the worst part of celebrating the holidays with friends and family is dinnertime. After summarizing your past year for both sets of cousins, updating grandma on your dating life and listening to your aunt retell the same stories that you hear every single year, the conversation typically slows down around the table.
Playful cynicism aside, an innate intimacy exists in the classic tradition of sharing a meal—whether that be with family members or close friends—and as one gets older, it becomes easier to appreciate the underrecognized effort involved with preparing a meal. With the appropriate mix of enjoyable company and genuine conversation, a dinner party can strengthen friendships and save relationships. Disregarding the delicious entrees and delicate appetizers, the foundation of sharing a meal is rooted in the desire for connection, and “Feast of the Epiphany” adopts this reflection as its thematic mantra.
For those immersed in the world of film criticism, you should probably know that “Feast of the Epiphany” was directed by Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert, the founders of Reverse Shot—a publication that consistently curates some of the most elegant pieces of modern film criticism—and Farihah Zaman, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker involved with a number of documentary projects, which include “Remote Area Medical” and “Ghosts of Sugar Land.”
Simply stated, “Feast of the Epiphany” boasts a remarkable set of talent behind the camera. The film’s concept is equally impressive; the movie morphs from a work of meta-fiction to an all-out documentary halfway through its runtime, a storytelling technique that should hook anyone with an interest in cinema. Even if you do not enjoy your time during “Feast of the Epiphany,” the extent of ambition and effort associated with this project cannot be denied.
Nevertheless, in the same breath, one should not be blamed for walking away from Koresky, Reichert and Zaman’s experiment nursing a profound sense of emptiness. The initial narrative, which focuses on a group of college friends (played by Meng Ai, Nikki Calonge, Sean Donovan, Jill Frutkin and Jessie Shelton) at a weekend dinner party, births the film’s flair for ambiance, a trait enhanced tenfold by Ashley Connor’s distinctive camerawork (Connor also worked as the cinematographer for “Madeline’s Madeline”). But, blurring theatre-like dialogue with everyday cadences never fuses into an engaging consequent. Instead of embracing the viewer into the inner circle, the stilted back-and-forth violently deters the audience from investing any sentiment into the scenes.
Structurally, the choppy plotline runs head-first into a dead end, and the illusion of the story’s progression leading up to an explanation regarding pre-established intrigue cuts itself off. Secrets are hinted at and development is teased, but the narrative’s captivating opacity seems to exist for the sole purpose of feigning importance.
Subsequently, as fictional characters melt away and Jody Bolluyt and the Roxbury farm take center stage in the documentary half of the film, “Feast of the Epiphany” builds upon the narrative’s obsession with observation, but neglects to incorporate any justifications for the audience to care yet again. In all fairness, due to Bolluyt’s openness regarding her personal struggles, the second part of the film harnesses a charm that the opening 40 minutes lacks. Additionally, Connor’s cinematography maintains a visual beauty that deserves the utmost praise, although the movie’s style only enhances the intellectually exhibitionist attitude that “Feast of the Epiphany” subconsciously exudes due to its lack of concern for the audience.
Do not be mistaken. “Feast of the Epiphany” is not aiming for conventionality, and any resonance that the film offers derives itself from the topics that Koresky, Reichert and Zaman decide to confront. As mentioned above, the narrative-doc analyzes the inherent human desire for connection, a theme not only represented by interpersonal relationships (friends, parents and co-workers in particular) but also the relationship between the earth and its inhabitants, in addition to the correlation between urban and rural lifestyles.
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Furthermore, the film’s divided structure can arguably signify death and rebirth; the fictional narrative’s dinner discussion segment primarily revolves around the loss of parents and the desire to start again, both of which occur as the characters physically consume food. Conversely, the Roxbury farm documentary primarily centers around life, creation and restoration. Likewise, coinciding with the notion of rebirth, night literally fades into day as the first half diffuses into the second part of “Feast of the Epiphany,” and the film’s shift from winter to spring debatably signifies the figurative seasons that one’s life undergoes, a matter discussed in the opening narrative.
With regard to its subtext, “Feast of the Epiphany” is a six-course meal, packed with enough brain food to feed an entire village of film critics for months. However, the film gives off the impression of an individual giving a speech instead of hosting a conversation. As a result, “Feast of the Epiphany,” despite its contemplation on connection, neglects to reach out to its audience, and in turn alienates its visitors rather than welcoming the viewers as guests in its home. Koresky, Reichert and Zaman cannot be criticized for crafting an imaginatively cerebral work of docufiction, but “Feast of the Epiphany” exists on an elevated, unenjoyable plane that few viewers will desire to analyze or understand. [C-]
