Goin' Down the Road

A simple story, simply, truthfully, and forcefully told… A great deal of the film’s enduring power lies in the sense of veracity they give it—in the unpolished performances by actors whose faces bespeak the city miles of working-class wear and tear, and in the presentation of crap bowling alley and car wash bottling plant gigs.

NFB documentary meets OF MICE AND MEN with unglamorous Toronto setting, patently honest (“The most uncorrupt movie in town” – Pauline Kael) yet also quite slick in its way: Shebib alternates big scenes with gentle montages set to music, the result being perhaps a bit vanilla, too straightforwardly blue-collar. Someone like Olmi would’ve found a touch of wonder or absurdism – but even the most transcendent touch here (the recurrence of Satie) is nakedly aimed at poignant point-scoring.