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"Illuminations" Vol. 1 | Issue 2
For those of you who have been following Oscars coverage, you will no doubt know that Canadians have ranked high in the nominations, with two out of the five nominations for Best Director going to Canadian born James Cameron and Jason Reitman. But these are not the only Canadians who have had the nod from the Academy: District 9’s Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell who directed and co-wrote the popular science fiction film respectively, have had their film nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Lately, it seems, Canadians have been making a large mark on the entertainment landscape.
Pretty damned exciting, isn’t it? It really is for me: seeing increasing levels of Canadian productions makes me excited for my own future within this industry, and for the future of the infrastructures supporting Canadian filmmakers. With a view to the television industry, it is clear that Vancouver has been a hotspot for American production companies to shoot their television series because of the ability to cut costs: shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Smallville and Eureka have all been shot in Vancouver in the past.
The nice thing to see is that Canadian productions are also gaining ground in Vancouver: Sanctuary, executive produced and starring Stargate SG-1s Amanda Tapping, is supported by, crewed and cast with and by Canadians. Although the series started out with no distributor besides the use of the internet, both Space Channel and Syfy have picked up Sanctuary in the past, with a third season just ordered. Considering that Sanctuary have not been backed by a major studio they have done a fantastic job and paved the way for other series to follow their path. Riese, a new webseries created by a recent VFS graduate, Ryan Copple, started airing online in September 2009 and has been compared to Sanctuary. Clearly the future for Canadian productions is bright.
The following will be a frequent addition to this column: smaller reviews of older films I have recently had the joy (hopefully!) of watching:
4.5/5 The Squid and the Whale (2005)
This film surprised me: I had the DVD sitting in a drawer for a while waiting for me to watch it, and it took me taking a weekend off due to sickness for me to finally getting around to watching. Boy was I glad to have done so. Shocking in parts, delightfully predictable in others, this film takes divorce and turns it on its head without descending into the usual romantic comedy genre. This film is funny but it is darkly so as we follow the disintegration of the Berkman’s marriage and the attempt by their two boys to deal with the aftermath. Jeff Daniels, who plays Bernard, is effortlessly stunning. He brings to life with alarming accuracy the intellectual who uses his arrogance to wash over his recent failures. The rest of the cast are equally as fantastic, but it is Daniels who demands attention—both through his talent, and the behaviour of his character. Definitely a must watch!
4/5 Barton Fink (1991)
The Coen Brothers always deliver a quiet, reflective but chaotic experience when watching their films, and this proved no exception. Barton, a playwright from New York, is hired by Capital Pictures to write their latest wrestling B Movie, but the result is far from successful. A reportedly honest portrayal of the film industry, Barton Fink descends into crazed interactions between reality and fabrication, truth and lies. This film has been beautifully shot, and there is an attention to detail that just screams to be looked at. The cast is also exceptional: John Turturo, John Goodman and John Mahoney are especially great, even if their characters seem larger than life at times.
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