Land: a film of two exiles from society finding friendship and healing
Robin Wright, “Land” (2021) For her directorial debut, US actor Robin Wright chose to do a challenging character study of a bereaved woman, Edee (played by…
Canadian Films
Final Offer: implausible plot made enjoyable by great acting and fast minimal dialogue
Mark Slutsky, “Final Offer” (2018) The premise is the height of implausibility but great acting from Aaron Abrams and Anna Hopkins as protagonist and antagonist lawyers…
Numb: a powerful short film on the effects of lockdown isolation on young people
Liv McNeil, “Numb” (2020) Originally an art school project to occupy her for the rest of the school year, Liv McNeil’s three-minute film “Numb” has reached…
A tale of alienation, dehumanisation and exploitation in “Upload:U”
Samuel E Mac, “Upload:U” (2017) A creepy little short made in very sparing minimalist style, “Upload:U” may be viewed as a metaphor expressing the alienation and…
Metta Via: a story of personal transformation with a strange power and attraction
Warren Flanagan, “Metta Via” (2017) Visually stunning and ambitious in its concept, this Canadian short work is possessed of unusual power. Superficially it lacks an obvious…
Iteration 1: a dystopian human future equivalent to a maze teaching flatworms to learn from experience
Jesse Lupini, “Iteration 1” (2016) Made for a Canadian film festival in which the objective was to shoot a film and complete its post-production in the…
Hybrids: a hybrid short film of too many cliches and stereotypes
Patrick Kalyn, “Hybrids” (2013) This sci-fi live action short seems to have been made as a proof-of-concept film to promote an idea for a television series…
Borderless: European refugee / migrant crisis harbours a sinister agenda
Caolan Robertson and George Llewellyn-John, “Borderless” (2019) Lauren Southern is a political activist and independent journalist notorious for expressing views considered to be white-nationalist and borderline…
Cynicism and citizenship for sale in “Operation Mr Chen: The Hidden Face of Quebec’s Golden Visas”
Francis Plourde, “Operation Mr Chen: The Hidden Face of Quebec’s Golden Visas” (Enquete, September 2018) In 1986 the Canadian federal government and the Quebec provincial government…
Real-life horror movie treatment of patients in “Brainwashed: The Secret CIA Experiments in Canada” which the Canadian government refuses to acknowledge and apologise for
Harvey Cashore, “Brainwashed: The Secret CIA Experiments in Canada” (The Fifth Estate, December 2017) As The Fifth Estate’s website post on this documentary says, the scenario…