'Origin' traverses time to investigate the roots of oppression | review

Origin follows an author's pursuit of the roots of oppression against the backdrop of her own personal struggles

TIFF 2023 | Origin follows an author's pursuit of the roots of oppression against the backdrop of her own personal struggles

In adapting the nonfiction book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Pulitzer Prizer winner Isabel Wilkerson, Ava DuVernay set out to unpack a complex topic that recontextualizes our conception of race and oppression that spans centuries and societies. It's no small feat, especially for a book as well-researched and intellectual as Wilkerson's. How does she tackle something this epic in scale? She shrinks it down to its smallest element: humans. Instead of following the idea, she follows Wilkerson's journey (played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) to understand it — from present-day Florida to the Jim Crow South to late 19th century India. But first, DuVernay wants us to understand Isabelle herself.

Origin begins in the shadow of the murder of Trayvon Martin (Miles Frost), which DuVernay sensitively recreates through the chilling 911 call that stunned the nation. Lik…