Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Jennifer Weir, Megan Chao-Smith, Tiffany Tamaribuchi, Kaoly Asano, Chieko Kojima
Intro:
… an excellent documentary that will be enjoyed by a wide audience …
Finding Her Beat is about women and non-binary people that have smashed through a blockade that has existed for centuries. Arresting from its opening moments, this documentary is a mix of performance and behind-the-scenes footage from the world of Taiko – an ancient Japanese ensemble drumming art that has been, until recently, a men’s club. Women had only previously been allowed to dance on the Taiko stage.
Taiko is as much about the performance as it is about the music, and while other instruments and voice are used, the Taiko performance is dominated by deep, tribal, muscular drum sounds – sounds that the players put their entire bodies into creating.
Musical, theatrical, athletic, and exciting – the best moments of this documentary are the live performances, yet there’s a good balance between the performance and the behind-the-scenes footage.
The focus is largely on the lead-up to a big gig in Minneapolis, showcasing female and non-binary Taiko drummers from Japan and the United States (Asian Americans, we learn, have embraced the art). Finding Her Beat begins with some of the Minneapolis concert and an explanation of Taiko, then rewinds 17 months, before taking a journey, via Japan, back to the film’s starting point in freezing Minnesota.
At the centre of Finding Her Beat are Jennifer Weir (Executive Director of TaikoArts Midwest and the film’s producer) and her wife, Taiko artist Megan Chao-Smith. Jennifer, Megan, and their daughter Josie prove to be good company as are the other Taiko artists – particularly the trailblazing Kaoly Asano from Japan and Tiffany Tamaribuchi, a talented Taiko artist who’s considered a star on the Taiko circuit.
Their stories are worth hearing, but most of all it’s the thunderous raw power of Taiko that makes the deepest impression. This is an excellent documentary that will be enjoyed by a wide audience – Finding Her Beat is uplifting not only because of its musical joys, but because it’s also about changing a male-dominated culture that set up obstacles that once looked impenetrable.
