Year:  2021

Director:  Neasa Ní Chianáin, Declan McGrath

Rated:  All Ages

Release:  TBC

Distributor: Antidote

Running time: 102 minutes

Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth

Cast:
Kevin McArevey

Intro:
... uplifting ... engrossing ...

There are a lot more aerial landscapes appearing in low budget documentaries because drone technology is so accessible. In Young Plato, it is used to give an overview of the terraced streets of North Belfast, hot spot of the Irish Troubles in the 1960s and 1970s

Filmed by Neasa Ní Chianáin and co-directed with Declan McGrath, with editing by Philippe Ravoet, Young Plato was funded by Screen Ireland and an array of European production companies.

The thick Irish accents, subtitled throughout, embed us in the location, while archive footage of violence and protests add the historic context. Remnants of The Troubles are still evident in the ‘peace walls’ and barbed wire, and social issues are highlighted by incidents of drug peddling, cyber bullying, youth suicide and the shocking threat of a bomb attack close to the school gates.

The project took 10 years of prep and development, which included 2 years embedded in the school to gather a mass of ‘fly on the wall’ material. It’s a similar approach that Neasa Ní Chianáin and husband David Rane employed so successfully in 2017 to create the much praised School Life.

Both documentaries focus on dedicated teachers offering mentoring and pastoral care above and beyond regular school practices. In School Life, based at Headfort boarding school, teachers John and Amanda Leyden became the heart of the documentary.

In the urban day school of Young Plato, we follow our main character, school principal Kevin McArevey on his way to work at a boys’ Catholic primary school in the suburb of Ardoyne. McArevey sets the tone for principled, personalised care and instruction that includes critical thinking at the heart of its educational model. This is by no means abstract philosophy. McArevey and his staff patiently and intelligently support the Year 4 and 5 pupils to process personal and behavioural problems as well as debate the social issues around them.

The filmmakers chose four children to follow, deliberately singling out those whose ‘character arc’ had a positive outcome. That sample may not be totally representative but darker stories and issues are alluded to around the edges of the main stories. It’s probably not a bad thing to have Catholic schools represented in a more wholesome light than much of the recent press surrounding church abuse.

Scenes with McArevey one-on-one with struggling kids are particularly uplifting, forming the touchstone of his ‘philosophy in action’ approach. As punishment for bad behaviour, he helps kids unpack their actions with the aid of the ‘Philosophy Board’, giving them a framework to analyse what they did and consequences, allowing the navigation of different choices and understanding.

There’s an engrossing scene where the kids try to outdo Seneca’s methods to control anger. They include breathing, meditation and chilling out with music, in case you’re interested in the ancient and modern tips.

Mention of McArevey’s own troubled past with violence and alcohol is included. His position is responsible and compassionate rather than pious. If he has a special saint, it would be Elvis. From the mobile figure in his car, to the ring tone on his phone and his description of Graceland as the happy place he visits in meditation, it’s almost a bit more Elvis than we need, but it’s his unashamed inspiration.

Ní Chianáin has explained that it was the parents’ respect for McArevey that gave the filmmakers such terrific access. Unfortunately, lockdown meant they weren’t able to film home context and interviews as planned, relying on historic material instead. The filmmakers also never asked a child to perform for the camera, for ethical reasons but also because ‘it never works’ when you are going for the truth of the story.

Because of its subject and limitations, Young Plato doesn’t quite reach the heart and joy of School Life, but it’s clearly a labour of love. We can always use stories of good people doing good things and, as Ní Chianáin told FilmInk in an interview for School Life, “it’s a real privilege with documentary. You enter into worlds that you would never normally get access to.”

Young Plato was viewed at Sydney Film Festival.

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