Jordan Klassen: Virtuous Circle (Video)

1994. Virtuous Circle is a raw and emotional glimpse into the relationship between impressionable 13-year Charlie and his nihilistic 18-year old brother Luke. In and out of school, Luke's volatile relationship with authority and self-destructive apathy contrast with his love for his little brother. Despite their personal struggles, the brothers run together every day. The film follows their unorthodox training through the wild Canadian woods, across neighbour's lawns, highways, and dark nights, all in the pursuit of winning a famous regional long-distance race. By pushing each other to be better, they find power within themselves to transcend their problems and through this, stumble into a virtuous circle. The narrative explores the joys and pains of brotherhood through these vignettes and the emotional intricacy of the ordinary moments in between: the mundane arguments over finishing the milk and washing dishes, Luke's bipolar relationship with their overworked single mom, and the imperfect dynamics of how they test and express love in their relationship. However, when Charlie's innocent admiration leads him to reproduce some of Luke's mistakes, their drive to protect each other becomes obscured by their own weaknesses. The film explores their multifaceted brotherhood, and the constant fight to leave their vicious cycles behind to help the ones they love the most. In doing so, they reveal which victories really matter. - IMDb