An engaging and ultimately warm-hearted film that depicts the complex lives within a neurodiverse working-class Australian family, Because We Have Each Other, which has its international premiere at IFFR, examines the constant series of challenges involved in simply living life day by day.
Two families were joined when Brent ‘Buddha’ Barnes and Janet Sharrock shared a love-at-first-sight encounter at a local social club, but subsequent life for them and their five children has always been about hardship. As dyslexic spray-painter Brent comments with a laugh…“we are always in the shit – it is just the depth that varies.”
The couple were married in 2007 and share a deep love for each other, but also constantly worry about their children who face their own challenges. Janet’s daughter Rebecca is one of 60 people in the world with hyperthymesia which, despite offering amazing memory recall, is a difficult condition to live with. Sister Jessica, meanwhile, is a comedian struggling with depression. Buddha’s children from a previous marriage are Brendan (who hopes to take over Buddha’s spray shop), Kylie who has moved away as she tries to deal with her own demons, and autistic Dylan, who hangs out with his father and brother in spray.
Janet is very much the supportive, encouraging and nurturing core of the family universe, but she feels the weight of providing unconditional love and compassion for her loved ones, pushing her to exhaustion. As she sits in her car after a family shop she says: “I wanna run away, want to escape for a while. I love ‘em but you know? I want a break… just to escape.”
The film follows this unconventional family as they try simply to exist while also support each other. Death haunts Buddha (his older brother Kim died in a helicopter accident) while Janet’s daughters struggle to deal with an incident from their past. One night Janet gets a call from Jessica saying she might kill himself as she struggles to deal with the pain from what “he” has done.
Because We Have Each Other was made over five years by filmmaker Sari Braithwaite, with generous access given to her and her crew by the Barnes-Sharrock family. Together they come together to create a portrait of determined resilience combined with awareness and visibility for each family member. Their love and support for each other seems unbreakable…and given their challenges, such familial support is the one thing that keeps them going and offers hope.
It is a charmingly candid film – this family are clearly open and happy to be recorded – full of warmth, love and humour as they bicker, chat and play, offering depth and insight into their traumas and vulnerabilities. We have seen verité-style documentaries that follow families before…but this family is unlike any other, and the film appropriately offers them a lovely filmic platform. Things may always be tough for them, but their support for each other sees them getting by, based on mutual support and genuine affection.
Australia, 2022, 89mins
Dir: Sari Braithwaite
Production: Arenamedia
Producers: Chloé Brugalé, Sari Braithwaite
Cinematography: Jeremy Virag
Editor: Patrick McCabe
Music: Munro Melano
With: Jessica Sharrrock, Brent ‘Buddha’ Barnes, Rebecca Sharrock, Jessica Sharrock, Kylie Barnes, Brendan Barnes, Dylan Barnes
