Jason Sondhi

Sure, we’re getting a bit tired of profile docs, as Ivan Kander articulated in our recent article 15 Things Wrong With Your Short Film, but at my heart I’m a simple man. Give me a bad-ass with a sword and a lifetime of knowledge in arcane ways of using it, and you’ve got my attention. Jonathan David Kane found a remarkable subject in Haiti, and in documenting Alfred Avril, master of the machete, and exploring this man’s philosophy, musings on mortality and the state of his country, Kane crafted a fine, fine, short documentary that took him to some of the best festivals in the world, like Sundance and Clermont Ferrand. 

Created in collaboration with Borscht, the excellent Miami-based arts collective, Kane’s Papa Machete is an engaging portrait that communicates Avril’s worldview, but does not skimp on visual flourishes. Using the natural splendor of Haiti to great effect, the film is at its best when it pulls back to witness the master at work, teaching his students, blades whirring in their hypnotic and bloody dance. The sequences, often in slo-mo, are worth the price of admission themselves (of course that price is free!).

What elevates the film to a higher plane though is the sense of mystery and nostalgia it fosters, from the cloistered nature of the schools in which Tire Machèt is practiced, to the palpable fear of this unique form being lost. Without a place in a rapidly modernizing world, it feels like an art that is out of place with its time, and the fruitful tension of tradition and change allow the film to reach for more than simply being a showcase for a colorful subject. With all of us present to the erosion of traditions, Papa Machete does its best to document and keep alive a fascinating one.