Mark Achbar,
Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan
The film won 9
Genie Awards in 1987: Best Motion Picture, Best
Achievement in Direction, Best Original Screenplay,
Best Achievement in Film Editing, and the Golden
Reel Award.
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Canadian Films Reviews by Lois Siegel |
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Animation |
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 Glasses, by Brian Duchscherer, 22 minutes, 2001. 
Milo is a little boy who sees the world
differently from other children. The films has charming characters and
terrific special effects. "Glasses" premiered at
The Montreal World Film
Festival. ©Photo by Lois Siegel Brian Duchscherer, 1997 |
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Farzin Farzaneh
Drat is a gothic tale of a woman living alone in a
country house.  11 minutes, 2010, Canada Farzin Farzaneh is an Iranian-born artist living and
working in Montreal. Winner Best Animation Queens World Film Festival NYC 2011 |
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The Hungry Squid by John Weldon, 14 minutes, 2002. "The Hungry Squid," John Weldon's tale about a little girl who is left alone to fend for herself, is full of great characters, strong colors and wonderful Celtic-sounding music composed by Chris Crilly. It's a very imaginative film using floppy puppets made by Lilian Kruip. The puppets are filmed flat on their
backs. "I'm a drawing animator, so they didn't need to stand up. We used
the lightest fabrics we could get," Weldon explains. The puppets were filled
with aquarium grains, which make them feel like a light beanbag. Most of
the puppets have skeletons in them for support. The right materials had
to be designed to make them flexible. Images were recorded directly into the computer and matted together with other materials, and the backgrounds were mostly photographs. The ocean was Lake St. Louis in Pointe Claire, Quebec. Weldon used Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Premiere for editing; it took him a year to do the animation. "The Hungry Squid" premiered at The Montreal World Film Festival.
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Academy Award Nomination Short Film Animated, 2008 |
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 My Grandmother Ironed
the King’s Shirts by Torill Kove, 10 minutes,
1999.“My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts” is based on a story told to Kove by her grandmother and is a co-production with Studio Magica in Norway where Kove was born. “My grandmother was a bragger, and I later found out that not all the stories she told were true,” Kove explains. She once told me that my father was the first guy in Norway to own his own car. I was only four or five and never questioned what she said. Then I found out this wasn’t true. Maybe he was the first man on the block to own a car.” Ironing is the focus of Kove’s film. “My grandmother lived with us, and everything had to be ironed, including our underwear.” Norway was part of Sweden and before that part of Denmark. As the film opens, it’s 1905, and an independent Norway wants to have its own king, but they can’t find the rightful heir. Unemployed royals apply. “Grandmother” is full of humor as a new king, Prince Karl of Denmark, is elected. He can’t ski, like most Danes, his wife can’t speak Norwegian, and neither of them can iron shirts. As well, there are no servants in Norway…so they are doomed. We see an image of them in their un-ironed shirts greeting the public. A solution has to be found.
The local, respectable clothing store solves the problem. Then Kove’s
grandmother, an employee of the store, discovers that she is ironing the
King’s shirts, and she tells everyone. When enemy soldiers invade the country, grandma becomes a hero. She leads the resistance with a nation-wide mobilization of shirt-ironers who, in many creative ways, sabotage the enemy’s shirts. The technique used in the film is cel…and the cel painter, Anne Ashton, came to Norway for two weeks to walk around and do a color study before choosing the colors for the film. Specific details were added to the film. If you look closely, you will see that all the German soldiers look like Hitler. Kove also had help with scriptwriting from her former Concordia University teacher, Stefan Anastasiu. |
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Sea and Stars
by Anna Tchernakova and Georgine Strathy, 11 minutes, 2002.Color against a black and white background makes this film outstanding. |
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“When the Day Breaks” won the
Palme d’Or for Best Short at the 1999 Cannes Film festival. It also took two
prizes at the Annecy International Film Festival.
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Documentary |
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"Await The Freight"
Intermode Media
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Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet - 40 Years of One Night Stands,
directed by Jeff McKay, 72 minutes, 2009 “Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet - 40 years of One Night Stands” documents the legendary rise of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company - the first Canadian company to be granted a ‘Royal’ title. This was no small feat, especially given the remoteness of the city, both geographically and culturally. Winnipeg was surrounded by farmland. Eminent dance critic Clive Barnes called The Royal Winnipeg Ballet ‘prairie freshness.’ The story is an inspired look at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet provided by Winnipeg director Jeff McKay(Edgeland Films), and, surprisingly, one does not lose interest as the story progresses. The statistics and historical facts, interspersed with striking dance images, keep the viewer riveted to the screen.
One Night
Stands |
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 "Chairman George," directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, 68 minutes, 2005 Introducing
George Sapounidis, Greek/Canadian folk
singer, who at 40 still lives with his parents. He has issues, but he also
has a wonderful "joie de vivre." And he doesn't give up easily when he
wants to do something. In real life, he works as a statistician. He travels
to Beijing to play bouzouki and guitar. And the
girls flock around him as he bills himself: “the only Greek in the world who
can sing in Chinese." The young ladies all find him charming. |
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Photos In the small mountain town of Heber Springs, the Arkansas portrait photographer known as Mike Disfarmer captured the lives and emotions of the people of rural America during the two World Wars and the Great Depression. This documentary discovers an American master, his influence on the modern Manhattan art world, and the legacy he left behind in his hometown of Heber Springs. “Disfarmer” is a documentary exploring the two insular communities of Heber Springs, Arkansas and the Modern Manhattan art world, and the long-dead misanthrope who has unwittingly brought the two together.
Richard
Avedon referred to Disfarmer’s photography as “indispensable”; his own series of
rural portraits, In the American West, published a decade later, reveals a
kinship with - and likely the influence of - Disfarmer's unblinking eye. |
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 Margaret & Evergon, Directed by Don Winker, 45 minutes, 2011
In 1999, the celebrated Montreal photographer Evergon took a
remarkable series of nude portraits of his own mother, then
80-years-old: black and white images that embodied not the
infirmities of old age, but a timeless strength, dignity, even
majesty. Some ten years later filmmaker Donald Winkler embarked
on a project that explored what lay behind that series of
photographs, uncovering in the process a poignant family
history, a woman's determination to be her own person, and a
unique and inspiring relationship between mother and son. |
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Rhombus Media is known for their films on the arts, especially
music ("The Red Violin," "Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould," "Making
Overtures"). "Five Days" follows the Toronto Symphony Orchestra during the first
days of its new season (2004) with their new conductor Maestro Peter Oundjian.
What is interesting about the film is that musical footage
is intercut with behind-the-scenes activities of the orchestra members and the
administrators. We see a double-bass player expertly playing a lovely solo
passage, then the screen is split in two, and we see this same musician,
backstage, competing in some kind of finger hockey game with another member of
the orchestra. |
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Gambling Boys
"Gambling Boys," a documentary produced by EyeSteelFilm, delves in
to the world of teen gambling, a world that offers excitement, the potent
allure of making big money, and as many are discovering, With the barrage of marketing campaigns, television coverage of poker tournaments, and easy access to online gaming, it is no surprise that teens are increasingly affected. Experts are finding that the rate of problem gamblers among young people is two to four times higher than for adults.
Gambling Boys features three youths ranging in age from 14 to 20 years old. These teens share their experiences with the thrill of gambling and the tragic consequences when the betting gets out of control.
Gambling Boys, offers a poignant and lively picture of teens’
fascination with gambling and the harsh consequences of getting hooked.
Gambling Boys: View
Film
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Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Photo by Peter Bregg
Directed by Michèle Hozer & Peter Raymont If you are interested in classical music, musicians, piano, or human nature, this documentary film is a must see. It’s excellent. There have been other films about eccentric pianist Glenn Gould, specifically “On the Record” and “Off the Record,” (National Film Board of Canada, 1959) and “Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould” (1993) - a series of vignettes about his life. “Genius Within” is the most comprehensive film study to date. It follows Gould’s development as pianist from his early years until the day of his death in 1982 at the age of 50.
Gould was only 22 when he made his American debut at Town
Hall, New York City (1955). The following day, he was offered an exclusive
recording contract with Columbia Records. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg
Variations received immediate critical acclaim. The rest is history.
Eventually Gould refused to play concerts, preferring to edit
his recordings meticulously instead. He was obsessed with having absolute
control over every aspect of his work.
The interesting aspect of the film are the personal
interviews with people who knew him but had never spoken publically about
their relationship with him. Cornelia Foss, the wife of German born,
American composer/conductor Lucas Foss, left her husband and took their two
young children to live in Toronto. The news about her four and a half year
affair with Gould only broke two years ago. |
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Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero ,
Directed by
Jeff McKay, 53 minutes, 2004This is a fascinating documentary about water and the swimmers that are obsessed with entering water in all its forms. The film was inspired by Charles Sprawson's book of the same name (Pantheon, 1993). 
These swimmers go where other swimmers have never dared to go, they swim
across vast expanses of seemingly thick, black masses of darkness. They
conquer their fears. The culture of swimming is the focus of the film, and
we wonder why these swimmers do what they do.
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Jann Takes Manhattan, Directed by Michael McNamara, 60 minutes, 2004 Featuring singer/comedian Jann Arden in New York City as she performs at the legendary Studio 54 and explores NYC. The film works because of her humor and the excellent camera work of John Tran, director of photography and editing by Daith Connaughton. |
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Just Another
Missing Kid, Directed by John Zaritsky, 90 min., 1981, Canada
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 Last Train Home, 85 minutes, 2009, Canada/China/UK Directed by Lixin Fan The Chinese New Year is approaching. Every year, thousands of Chinese are crammed together trying to buy tickets in train stations across China, hoping to go home. They return to their families to celebrate the New Year. This human migration is of gigantic proportions – the largest anywhere in the world. If you are at all claustrophobic and don’t like crowds, “Last Train Home” will challenge you.
These factory workers leave their children at home to be cared for by grandparents. “Last Train Home” follows one family: two parents, one grandmother and two children. The parents rarely see their children. They want to make money so that their kids will be able to have a good education and a better life. Their 15-year-old daughter says, “The country’s a sad place.” She wants the excitement of the city and leaves for a city job. City life is enticing for young people. |
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Man of Grease, directed by Ezra Soiferman, 50 minutes, 2000 Tony Koulakis, 67, chef and owner of Montreal’s legendary eleven-stool greasy-spoon, Cosmos, has been serving up his famous cholesterol-loaded all-day breakfasts since the late 1960s, without taking a single serious vacation. One year before retiring, Tony places his beloved Cosmos in the trust of his three children, and flies - for the first time in nearly three decades - back to his homeland of Greece.
Tony is affectionately known as “The God of the Potatoes”. The film examines the culture of his restaurant through interviews with the legions of his many devoted, outspoken customers.
Screened on six Canadian TV networks, eight film festivals, and nominated for a Quebec Jutra Award for Best Documentary, 2000. |
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Prom Night in
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A Cultural Odyssey |
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The Socalled Movie
Directed by Garry Beitel, 90 minutes,
2010, Canada |
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Background: China is changing faster than most people realize. One of the major disruptions to Chinese life is occurring along the Yangtze River where the Three Gorges Dam resides. The dam is the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. It's not expected to become fully operational until 2011. The potential benefits of the dam are
flood control because millions of people live downstream of the structure,
as well as hydroelectric power. The dam should reduce coal consumption by 31
million tons per year, cutting the emission of greenhouse gas. The downside
is that 2.3 million people have to relocate, including 4 million more by the
year 2020. Residents complain of government corruption and a lack of
proper assistance for relocation and there are hints that people who
protested the move were beaten and had their property destroyed.
"Up the Yangtze" introduces teenagers Cindy (Yu Shui) and Jerry (Chen Bo Yu). Cindy comes from a poor family living on the edge of the river, a family that barely survives by raising a few crops and very few farm animals. The parents can't read or write. Their daughter must postpone her education to earn money. Jerry is an urban only child, spoiled, and over-confident. Both Cindy and Jerry find jobs on a luxury cruiser that transports rich tourists along the Yangtze River as they view a last glimpse of the ancient version of China, a life that is rapidly disappearing.
Two lifestyles are contrasted in the film, that of Cindy's family in the country, eking out a minimalist living and that of Jerry, enjoying the city during an evening hanging out with friends. The city has also changed.
Now we see cars instead of bicycles and well-dressed young people toting shopping bags.
Then we see how Cindy and Jerry progress with their new
jobs on the luxury cruiser. Their lives are also in contrast to that
of the tourists. They are workers, and the work is difficult. They
have a lot to learn, whether it be how to greet the tourists: "Welcome
Aboard," as opposed to a mere "Hello;" We see the tourists singing "My Bonnie
Lies Over the Ocean," enjoying silly rhymes by entertainers who try to teach
them a few words in Chinese, and having their photos taken in elaborate
Chinese costumes.
The film is replete with contrasts. |
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Fiction |
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One of the best Canadian
films ever...
May
11 - 24, 2007 |
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Men talk about women and women talk about men. It's clever and humorous, and you haven't seen another film like this one. What has become of the relationships among the sexes? A quiet interlude in the country reveals all. |
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Funkytown
It's not just that Montréal
was disco funky in the mid to late 70s. It was
also a vibrant place to be where life was
changing quickly. In 1976 Montréal was awarded
the Olympics and Crescent Street was blocked off
every night for partying athletes and beautiful
people. René Lévesque founded the Parti
Quebecois and became the 23rd Premier of Quebec.
and businesses started leaving for Toronto.
The film "Funkytown" centres
around stories of seven people affected by the
fast-moving scene in the city. Bastien Lavallée
(Patrick Huard) is a central
figure. Based on the true story of Alain
Montpetit, we follow his downfall from radio and
television fame to his destructive dependence on
cocaine and a failed affair with a young wannabe
starlet and a suspicious murder in NYC. He was an entertainment and gossip columnist, as well as a publicist, and hosted parties at Régines at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. I wrote about him in "Cinema Canada." Douglas: "I just realized I have to be in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City - all in three hours. I just keep saying 'Yes' to everyone. I raised $4000 myself this weekend by going on stage at Place Des Arts. Maybe I should raffle someone's jock strap from the Alouettes."
In "Funkytown," The Starlight disco is fashioned on the former Limelight on Stanley Street. There's a special floor for "homos." It's the era of gay-bashing....where homosexuals meet under a bridge - the designated gay pick up spot. Sex was often traded for stardom. Music promoters who represented future stars were known to hold their auditions in hot tubs, if you get my drift. They also dubbed other singers voices over their lip-syncing favorite sex objects who couldn't sing worth a damn. Essentially, the film is about people who mess up their lives. The characters are classics. If you have any nostalgia for Montreal in the 70s-80s, this is a film you'll want to see or if you don't really know Montreal, you'll get a taste of what it was like in the disco years. Canada, 132 minutes, Bilingual: In English and French with English subtitles. Review by Lois Siegel |
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"The
Big Chill" with men. This Canadian drama looks more like an American
film because of its slickness, strong acting, and skilled cinematography.
"Ice Men" is Best's feature directorial debut. He's better known as a
Toronto cinematographer. "Ice Men" focuses on
the relationships of five men spending the weekend together at a cottage.
Within a short period of time, their lives change. Budget for the film was close to $1
million. World Premiere: Montreal World Film
Festival, 2004 |
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 Uncertain
Identities: Montreal Main (1974)
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 Snow Cake, directed by Marc Evans U.K./ Canada, 2006 This unusual film will capture your attention as it unveils the relationships between people who are thrown together as the result of an accident. The acting is excellent, and the storytelling is full of surprises. "Snow Cake" stars Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss, who won a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. All the starring actors deserve awards.
Weaver gives a superb performance as a
high-functioning autistic lady. Rickman displays a full range of
emotions of a man torn by the past and trying to confront his future.
Sigourney Weaver prepared for her role as Linda by spending time with a high-functioning autistic woman from England, Ros Blackburn. Although not a direct portrayal of Ros (who in real life cannot live independently and cannot read or write), many of Ros's mannerisms and characteristics are very apparent in Linda, as well as the passion for trampolining and things sparkly. Ros Blackburn gives public talks on what it is like to experience life as a person with autism.
"Autism is the inability to single out people as special, separate, unique entities - different from bits of the furniture, different from even the family pet dog," Blackburn says. "Snowcake was shot in 27 days in Wawa, Ontario. The writer, Angela Pell, has an autistic son. |
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Unbreakable Minds, Directed by
Abby Jack Neidik, 60
minutes, 2004 Randy and Brad, both in their thirties, are schizophrenic; Rob, in his early forties, suffered a major depressive disorder. "Unbreakable Minds" gives us a raw glimpse into their lives and the lives of those who live with and care for them.
Keeping It Real:
Families, Community, and Mental Illness |
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  Waydowntown, Directed by Gary Burns, 87 min., 2000 Young office workers stake a month's salary on a bet to see who can stay indoors the longest. Good humor, inventive scenes, Don McKellar as Brad creates a wonderful character. Great comedy. |
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