How can a country that has perhaps the greatest and most popular film festival in the world (the the exception of say Cannes) not have a great film making reputation? Living in Canada myself I wish there were more significant films being made. I think the problem might be for a country capable of making such personal works of film art such as Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter" or Deny Arcand's "The Barbarian Invasions", we choose more to celebrate mainstream Canadian movies like "Bon Cop, Bad Cop". For Americans who read this blog, "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" is a harmless action comedy where a french Canadian policemen from Montreal has to team up with an english speaking Canadian from Toronto to solve a case. The film plays like a Canuck's "Lethal Weapon". It might interest you American's to know that "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" has become the highest grossing Canadian film ever, before that I think it was "Porkys" (Yes "Porkys" is a Canadian film).
I'm frustrated with Canadian film because we have been able to produce some great talent with the likes of Atom Egoyan, Deny Arcands, David Cronenberg, Don McKeller, Sarah Polley, and that little indie film maker James Cameron. Thankfully most of these names still work in Canada and today are creating some great films, others like Cronenberg and Cameron have been beckoned to America perhaps never to return, but really who could blame them? Canada should be in the running for having the best produced film in the world, it has the potential of what Japanese cinema was in the fifties or France was in the sixties in my opinon, of course I'm a bit biased.
Here's hoping Canada will wake up to what the rest of the world already knows, we got some great film makers out there now lets take the next step.
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