The Five Best Movies Made in Canada

This seems a bit lame. Nothing before the late 80s/90s. I intentionally tried to take the weight off French movies. There are a lot of pretty good anglo Canadian movies--I remember I Love A Man In Uniform was good, and good old Davie-Boy Cronenberg goes out of his way to place all his movies in Canada, until Spider (I remember in Dead Ringers he must have insisted that Jeremy Irons call orange soda "orange pop." All the other ones, despite the American stars, are recognisably Canadian). Most of the movies we loved growing up are probably crap---My American Cousin, anyone?--and most of the Canadian film of worth before that are NFB shorts.
But there is a lot worth seeing. And the fact that there's anything at all seems partly to be testament to the cultural-advancement imperative of the various Canadian governments that have funded these movies. Canada has in spades all the sterility and sexual conservatism that can make for good ol' percolatin' art films of the Norweigan variety, and it seems like nothing can be made withou a boost from the government. So bring it on!

*pats head*

(and all the fucking movies about going back to one's hometown and confronting one's past following the death of a family member with which the protagonist had a conflicted relationship; and every movie with molly parker; and every movie that combines the two)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095871/

Freakyass Canadian horror film. I must see this again some time.

Also, I'll add votes for Jesus de Montreal and Leolo.

Almost started a Canadian Movies thread, but this'll do.

Found out via Facebook that Don Shebib's Rip-Off, his follow-up to Goin' Down the Road, is on YouTube. Saw it once years ago...don't think it made much of an impression at the time, but will give it another go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv7kCxLLT6I&fbclid=IwAR2dA_D6jCcUK0QZmCcIk0HDKWc52M8coj4_c02y0Lw36ZmpnRgsz626gLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv7kCxLLT6I&fbclid=IwAR2dA_D6jCcUK0QZmCcIk0HDKWc52M8coj4_c02y0Lw36ZmpnRgsz626gLE

Not sure why that's not working (I'm downloading it right now--maybe that messes up the link). Anyway, the search term on YouTube would be "RipOff (1970's)."

My five, by the way:

1. Goin' Down the Road
2. The Champions
3. The Dead Zone
4. Mon Oncle Antoine
5. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

(Ted Kotcheff also directed North Dallas Forty, which I like better than Duddy, but it would be a stretch to call that Canadian.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojm74VGsZBU

The Champions

What's this? I searched the title and only found a Hong Kong movie from the 80s and a 2015 documentary about Michael Vick.

I was actually going to come back and clarify--I see three other films with the same title...It's Donald Brittain's documentary on the decades-long relationship between Trudeau and Lévesque. Originally aired on CBC, I think; I lucked into a DVD at a flea market. You can watch all three parts on the NFB site:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_1/
http://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_2/
http://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_3/

Basically our version of Kennedy-Nixon. I came out of it with tremendous respect for Lévesque.

Terrible title.

Still waiting to find someone else who's seen the old Quebec flick Vie D'Ange.

Ted Kotcheff deserves his own poll.

I'd put one up, but is there enough there? I see two good-to-great films (Duddy Kravitz, North Dallas Forty), box-office stuff that looks pretty unappealing (Stallone, Weekend at Bernie's), and things I haven't seen that are maybe better than I'd guess. I might have seen Winter People too, can't remember.

P sure Wake in Fright would (deservedly) win a Kotcheff poll

That's somewhat well-known too, I guess--haven't seen it myself. I don't ever remember a theatrical screening here; you can get a Blu-Ray, but not a DVD, so I don't know how many people have seen it.

I think North Dallas Forty is the greatest sports film ever made, and I'm not a football fan.

First Blood rules!

I thought Canada had similar set up re film & tv production as Ireland did. had tax incentives etc meaning that films & tv shows were made there for distribution elsewhere.
So wondering to what extent a film made in Canada was a Canadian film.

Oh right, I see OP.

Vic and Flo Saw a Bear
Ginger Snaps

personal fave from the last decade: The Wild Hunt, an anglo QC production (very rare!) about a LARP that goes very very badly.

So wondering to what extent a film made in Canada was a Canadian film.

I think this has been a point of contention at the Genies (our annual film awards) with certain films--don't remember details, but I recall this being a big issue one year. To me, something like The Dead Zone feels Canadian: besides Cronenberg, it was shot in Ontario, and there are at least two well-known Canadian actors (Jackie Burroughs, Nicholas Campbell). North Dallas Forty has Kotcheff and Dayle Haddon (she's kind of terrible, actually), but that's about it.

(Turns out Jackie Burroughs was born in England...lived most of her life here, though.)

i want to mention: roadkill and highway 61, dance me outside, hardcore logo. lots of memories of watching and rewatching those four on showcase.
paperback hero. goin' down the road. my american cousin, which again, i probably haven't seen in 20 years, on showcase one afternoon. decline of the american empire. hank williams first nation. definitely fubar.

Fubar 2 is underrated imho

I was actually going to come back and clarify--I see three other films with the same title...It's Donald Brittain's documentary on the decades-long relationship between Trudeau and Lévesque. Originally aired on CBC, I think; I lucked into a DVD at a flea market. You can watch all three parts on the NFB site:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_1/
http://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_2/
http://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_3/

Basically our version of Kennedy-Nixon. I came out of it with tremendous respect for Lévesque.

― clemenza, Tuesday, November 27, 2018 5:34 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is really good. i got it out the vancouver public library

also via this thread I've just realized that the guy who directed weekend at bernie's also directed wake in fright ┐(￣ヘ￣;)┌

that vs. Bob Clark's Christmas duology as weirdest movies to share a (Canadian) director

oh weird i just googled that. apparently bob clark was american - though he worked for 10 years in canada.

i had no idea he was the porky's guy either.

I really enjoyed John Paizs’s “Crime Wave” and Maddin’s “My Winnipeg”

hell yeah crime wave!!!

Yeah. Some friends of mine screened it in Toronto fifteen years ago and I loved it and keep thinking about it (even though I only saw it the one time)