Calendar.
Calendar was great.
—PolarisDiB
Just saw Maelström (Denis Villeneuve) and thought it was pretty fantastic.
Maelstrom !!!!!! Amazing and yeah of course Cronenberg and Les ordres (Michel Brault), still have to watch Jutra’s mon oncle antoine
Great topic! Okay, here are some of my Canadian favourites:
Wow I can’t even name any english Canadian films other than Men with Brooms (or does Juno count?)…kinda sad although I have heard of Cronenberg and Maddin.
I’ve enjoyed several french films from Quebec. C.R.A.Z.Y. and The Rocket are my favorites as they really capture the look and feel of Quebec. I also enjoyed Bon Cop Bad Cop as a popcorn flick, the hockey plot is cheesy but got a laugh out of the french swearing lesson.
I wanted to see Zacharias Kunuk’s film Before Tomorrow but didn’t get around to it when it was in theatres.
I need to mention John Paizs’ Crime Wave 1985. Absolute masterpiece.
if you are interested in beautiful meditative documentaries, Manufactured Landscapes is one of my favorite films of all time. basically, it is about the Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky and his work on the awareness of human impact on the planet with a specific focus on China. i think i might love it because i got to see it on the big screen in the Detroit Film Theater, and there is a massive image of discarded laptop parts in a giant junkyard that has stayed with me ever since.
I’ve always had a soft spot for “Last Night,” and Robert Lepage — particularly “Nô” and “La face cachée de la lune” — is outstanding. I’m not sure what it is about Québecois cinema that makes it so much better (i.e., when it’s good, it’s very good) than Canadian Anglo cinema. Is there simply no funding to sustain the great English cinematic minds? I don’t think I’m nearly informed enough to get into a tussle about the merits of Telefilm Canada, but…
Does Bollywood/Hollywood count? I think part of it was based in Toronto and I think the director emigrated there too. I found it enjoyable in a light way.
Joseph Caouette listed Monkey Warfare above (2006, d. Reginald Harkema, w/ Don McKellar, Tracy Wright, Nadia Litz). I just saw it and agree with his inclusion. It has its weaknesses (the tiny budget might have something to do with that), but it’s still a terrific film. It’s also proud of its English Canadian identity (no Americanization here), while, as IMDb reviewer jeremy-340 put it, “Canadian cinema is often criticized as being slow, boring, and too introspective. This film is guilty of none of those.”
PolarisDiB
I found The Decline of the American Empire to be downright insufferable. Who can stand those characters? They all needed to pull their heads out of their asses, every last one of them. And the cinematography was that particular form of trying to be clever that was just downright distracting.
—PolarisDiB