For anyone in the midst of, or having previously endured, the pains associated with the salad days of youth, that time-honored tradition of finding one’s unique voice while attempting to entrench oneself within the local population of similarly-aged peers as new feelings and emotions emerge on a seemingly daily basis is, at best, an uphill battle. At worst, it can serve to cripple a developing soul in ways adults may struggle to comprehend fully; it is for these reasons that any successes along the way need not be ignored but celebrated; friendships with like-minded individuals and membership in groups catered to one’s passions are more than a hallmark of these undeniably short years and could be seen as wholly necessary to a developing personality. Maybe such thoughts are cliché, possibly redundant, and in the documentary “We Can Be Heroes,” one such coming together of people with a shared love for something greater than themselves serves as both a window into a small handful of passionate lives and a probe further into what’s made those lives tick.
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On the surface, “We Can Be Heroes” uses a camp known as Wayfinder as the framework; here, children of various ages come to spend the summer in an environment heavily centered around LARP, or Live Action Role Playing; it’s a real-life medieval war of sorts, much in the same vein of civil war re-enactments, Dungeons and Dragons, a Renaissance faire or the majority of 2008’s, “Role Models.” As the film unfolds, select campers are profiled from various parts of the United States, with the first being Cloud, bubbling with youthful energy and easily one of the most humorous. Unafraid to mention his struggles to fit in at his last three schools due to his difficulty relating to others outside his home, this White Plains resident also possesses a talent for brandishing a lightsaber, with a skill level not unlike the fantasy writing ability of Dexter, next on the list and full of British charm as this New Yorker discusses his work, his camp crush and overall desire to find true love, coupled with an infectious sense that the 15-year old couldn’t be any wiser beyond his years. Sacramento’s Abby, meanwhile, has learned to cope with a series of severe digestive issues through her illustrative storytelling, a trait more than adequate enough to render her relatively new feeding tube nearly invisible to viewers as she waxes poetic on returning to camp.
Once the action shifts to first-day arrivals at Wayfinder, the excitement of those attending sits on full display, with campers showing off homemade battle armor as they giddily make their way from the cars of their parents to cabins; it’s Cloud’s first overnight sleeping experience, but it isn’t long before Dexter makes it clear he’ll be keeping the identity of his crush anonymous onscreen as he soon after reveals the overwhelming anxiety he can’t seem to discard. Other Wayfinder residents, in addition to one counselor in particular, receive their own screen time and glimpses into backstories throughout as well, alongside cinematic depictions of the impending fight. Still, the film naturally shifts as time passes to shots of campers in group settings, situated amongst the trees on yet another beautiful day, where Wayfinder begins to project the feel of a therapy retreat meant to help work through anything that might be causing difficulties back home. It’s enough to make one wonder if this is, indeed, the true purpose of Wayfinder; a particularly eye-opening moment sees Cloud discussing death, both his thoughts on the issue and those he’s lost during the course of his life thus far, which when combined with Dexter’s insecurities and repeated check-ins on Abby, helps to elevate any initial views of Wayfinder as a simple, brief escape into a fantastical realm of adventure to something far more.
It isn’t always perfect, nor entirely original; the film can’t help but project the sensation of an extended episode of MTV’s “True Life “and the repeated cuts to the heavily-filtered, Peter Jackson-esque moments of the various camp teams (referred to as “courts’) begin to wear out their welcome as “We Can Be Heroes” trudges along with all the enthusiasm of a certain fellowship making their way to Mordor. It is, however, beyond refreshing to witness the absence of any boundaries amongst those attending Wayfinder; no gender, disability, orientation, race, or belief system exists as taboo, and the latter could even play well into the improvisational nature of the recurring camp games.
As directors Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons move the film through its acts, taking detours down paths of high fantasy as much as what could be seen as a wilderness-set guidance counselor, it becomes increasingly clear how important a place like Wayfinder remains to so many and why returnees find their way back year after year. “We Can Be Heroes” lives up to its name in more ways than one by showing campers how each exists as their own hero, providing a place where dreams briefly become reality, and helping all who set foot within find their way. [B+]
