According to the 10 year study by Dr Robert Weeks, eccentrics are happier, healthier and live longer than the rest of us. Zaritsky’s film, A Different Drummer, offers us a glimpse into why that might be…
Directed by the academy award winning Canadian director, John Zaritsky, A Different Drummer is a heart-warming film about people who live outside the norms of society – and are proud of it.
In his celebration of eccentrics, Zaritsky introduces us to an endearing cast of seven non-conformists. Instead of worrying what people might think, these self-acclaimed eccentrics make their own path in life.
We meet remarkable people like Daniel Suelo, a man who lives entirely without money; John Ward, a wacky British inventor who has created a musical frying pan and a one-person mobile BBQ among other things, and Vancouver’s very own “duck lady,” Laura-Kay Prophet, who wheels her duck in a stroller around East Vancouver, handing out cookies filled with money to the homeless.
The best part about the film is the way it handles each of the eccentric’s stories – whether their story is humorous, witty or tragic, we get a chance to see the real person behind the eccentricity. In the Q & A session after the screening, Zaritsky says that he did not want his movie be a voyeuristic experience, or a freak show – and he definately succeeds on this count.
My only complaint about this film is that it is longer than it needs to be. After featuring the stories of the seven eccentrics, the documentary jumps back and forth among the seven, melding narratives in a dizzying, haphazard manner.