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North of Hollywood: Canadian Films in the ClassroomII. Some Canadian Film ClassicsAs well, some memorable Canadian films have been produced in the past with a unique perspective. Regrettably, neither Wedding in White (1972), a story of thwarted romance amid wartime privations, nor Gordon Pinsent's rollicking The Rowdyman (1972), about a Newfoundlander who refuses to settle down, are available on video. This is true of so many wonderful television dramas. One exception is Kevin Sullivan's witty Anne of Green Gables, made for about $200,000 when Sullivan mortgaged his Toronto house, and wrote, directed, and shot the film, then spun it off into several TV broadcasts, and a TV series. The original film and its sequel, like most sequels, a sleeper, Anne of Avonlea are on video.CBC owns the rights for some TV programs and can make video copies of them upon request although the minimum price was about $60 to $100 per hour for the transfer when I inquired some years ago. Many of the programs can also be viewed in the National Archives collection, which, of course, is not much use to a classroom teacher. There are obviously other limitations associated with such Canadian classics as Claude Jutra's Mon Oncle Antoine, a nostalgic piece about coming of age in a small French-Canadian town, or the Deny Arcand film Jesus of Montreal, a brilliant modern-day account of Christ's passion. The latter film tells how a Quebec actor hired to portray Christ for an easter passion play, acquires a new spiritual dimension, and eventually achieves martyrdom, a story more ambitious and fully realized than either Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar in its updating of that famous story. The last I heard of Arcand's film, it had been optioned by American producers who hoped to release an English version entitled Jesus of Mississippi. Unfortunately, I can't use either film very effectively with my English students. Finally, there is the issue of a Canadian film. Does "Canadian" meant that there has to be a Canadian star, director, and screen writer. If so, then, there would be even fewer Canadian films. Is Field of Dreams a Canadian film? W.P Kinsella who wrote Shoeless Joe, the novel upon which it's based, lives in B.C. , but then so does William Gibson whose novel was made into the badly-flawed Johnny Memnomic with Canadian Keanu Reeves. Neither film has much to say about Canada or Canadian culture. Is Titanic a Canadian film? Director James Cameron is a Canadian, and so is Celine Dion who sang the title song. Is The English Patient a Canadian film? It was based on a Canadian novel and used some Canadian stars. But I would probably consider only the latter film to be a Canadian one because it was based on Michael Ondaatje's book and among the chief characters, the nurse and Carvaggio are both supposed to be from Toronto. Sometimes, the Canadian-ness of a film is a very dodgy question. What about Canadian director Atom Egoyan's award-winning The Sweet Hereafter (1997)? That film was based on an American novel, but stars a British actor, Ian Holm, a largely Canadian cast, and Canadian locales. Then there's the new film The Shipping News about a dispossessed Maritimer returning home with his two daughters. Though the story is set in Newfoundland, Annie E. Proulx is an American writer, of the principal stars, Kevin Spacey is an American, and Judi Dench is British, and the film is directed by Lalle Hallstrom, a Swede. Is it the globalization of cinema, more likely, the Americanization of global cinema? Most of the films I use in class though are not as well known. They offer different cultural values than many American films, and most commercial ones, and they provide some insights into Canadian history and culture. Classic Canadian films such as Black Robe (1991), a dramatization of Brian Moore's novel about the ill-fated 17th century Jesuit mission to the Huron Indians and Never Cry Wolf, a based on a Farley Mowat novel, provide compelling story-telling. |
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