Guest of Honour (2019)

When music teacher, Veronica, (played by Laysla De Oliveira) is released from jail after being accused of statutory rape; she is delivered the unfortunate news that her food inspector father has passed away (played by David Thewlis). While dealing with the funeral arrangements, Veronica is forced to understand who her father was, through the counselling of a soft-spoken priest (played by Luke Wilson).

Atom Egoyan is the master of thread pulling dramatic narratives of past discovery. With Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and Remember (2015); Atom Egoyan has an infamous reputation of telling stories about regret and forbidden intentions and pleasures, under the umbrella of the creepy unknown. With Guest of Honour (2019), Atom Egoyan explores one’s reputation, power and childhood trauma over the back drop of his own ethnic background of Egypt. Displaying Canada’s huge connection to the Middle East with its food culture, and Egoyan’s parents own immigration to Canada, and possible solitude in the food industry as Armenians.

Guest of Honour is about true intentions covered up by status and words, abuse of power, trauma, PTSD, Canada’s multicultural expanse expressed through its food industry, jealousy, first love obsession and the complicated relationship with food prep and living animals, pedophilia, parental carelessness, bad child development due to parental neglect, boy/Woman statutory rape, revenge, following societal rules, job identity, spirituality and acceptance.

What makes Guest of Honour’s dark perspective interesting, is the idea of food, celebration, religion and music being the glue throughout the picture, that reminds you of the humanity of the characters, who can care and love for something other than greed or betrayal. Music especially plays an important role, being the catalyst of the film’s plot and the continuity as well; music also being a therapy of its protagonist and a resolve by the films end.

The thread of David Thewlis as the food inspector father, poignantly projects the similarity between food, mythos, focus and tradition. The idea that I’ve can’t experience another culture’s food, without coming into contact with its history and meaning that brought it there. The truth of the matter, that many have taken for granted the different food cultures immigrated into cosmopolitan countries, and careless consider the people behind it; such as - supporting ICE yet consuming Mexican food.

Being Canadian myself, Atom Egoyan’s films have always giving me a sense of comfort, even when dealing with difficult uncomforting subject matter. Guest of Honour accordingly follows suit; as Egoyan’s films are usually about family, self discovery and virtue across the plans of my peaceful home country of Canada. Guest of Honour is classic Atom Egoyan, while being one of his most personal films so far, and one of his most at peace. 8/10.

• Maurice Jones