Holy Frit! is a two-hour documentary about making stained-glass, and⊠wait, wait, wait! Itâs actually a lot more interesting than you may thinkâbut not always in the way the director may have intended.
Like many artists, Tim Carey is technically talented, but unable to find that magical âthingâ that launches painters to greatness. So he stumbles into a job at an LA stained-glass company, begins learning the craft, and then helps the business win a huge bid with a Kansas megachurch to create the largest stained-glass window in the world. The problem is, he has no idea how to do it, and only three years to accomplish this herculean task. He enlists the help of world renowned (and very eccentric) glass artist, Narcissus Quagliata, and off we go on a journey that explores the meaning of art while sharing plot points from The Mighty Ducks and How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
A lot of documentaries are forced to pull out all the visual bells and whistles to fill in the cracks where information or video are lacking. But director Justin S. Monroe jumped on this particular train very early in the process, so weâre able to follow the multi-layered process from start to finish. As a protagonist, Carey is a likable, artistically frustrated grump who slowly flowers under Quagliataâs mentorship, learning that art isnât achieved by hitting deadlines, but taking the time to do oneâs personal best every step along the way. Itâs a classic tale of an underdog overcoming impossible odds, and Monroeâs cast of misfits hit all the sweet spots of these tropes while introducing the audience to a gorgeous art form thatâs slowly perishing.
At the same time, Holy Frit! raises unintended questions for the viewer about the purpose of documentaries, and whatâs not being said and why. For example, moments of conflict between overworked coworkers and neglected family members are quickly mentioned and glossed over. Likewise, nothing is ever made of why a megachurch siphoned millions from its parishioners to build a pretty, but wholly unnecessary, and obscenely ostentatious monument to Christianity that wouldâve made Jesus roll over in his tomb. (This same monument, in one panel, pictures homophobic, civil rights obstructionist Rev. Billy Graham shoulder-to-shoulder with Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
Also heavily featured in the doc is Portlandâs own Bullseye Glassâwho supplied the glass used in this massive project, but was also the center of a 2016 firestorm of controversy (first reported by the Mercury) after the DEQ discovered significant amounts of toxic cadmium and arsenic in the soil near their business. Bullseyeâs oversized sense of entitlement and refusal to admit that for 47 years theyâd been emitting toxins into the nearby neighborhood (and the childrenâs daycare next door) is on full display in this documentary, and the filmmakers make no attempt to present any facts other than the heavily skewed opinions and false equivalencies made by its subjects. Under intense public and state pressure, Bullseye eventually installed emission control systems that reduced the risk to everyone around themâbut in this documentary, their entitlement and lack of empathy for their neighbors is as strong as ever. Frankly, itâs gross.
And thatâs too bad, because for the average viewer, Holy Frit! is an entertaining, well-made, and mostly fascinating meditation on what makes art âartââwhich is, of course, the endless pursuit of truth. Itâs definitely worth your time, even though the filmmakers fall short of that lofty goal.
Here's how you can stream Holy Frit! as part of the Portland International Film Festival.
