Movies that made you love cities (for the first time, or even more)

[Acajack]

Alfred Hitchcock made a movie called I Confess in Quebec City (the city plays itself) with Montgomery Clift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H43...BQkoS0NUsucag2

Several decades later, Quebec artistic multi-tasker Robert Lepage made Le Confessional in the same city, with the Hitchcock film as a backdrop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5J2P23G-AE

[Acajack]

Canada's capital city Ottawa makes an extremely rare appearance as itself in the movies in Captains of the Clouds, a 1950s war and air force film starring James Cagney.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4qB2hSgIDY

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by niwell

There was a great Louis Riel graphic novel put out 20 years or so ago. At the time I remember thinking that this could be made into a movie easily. Our history certainly isn’t as boring as we make it out to be...

The was a movie about Louis Riel made about 40 years ago.

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi81BvwrHPw/

As in most such cases it was done by the CBC, as there is little interest on the movie theatre industry side for Canadian historical topics.

As for the October Crisis, I am aware of several movies in French about it. Or with it as a backdrop. One came out about a year or two ago, actually.

[niwell]

^I'll check it out!

I was trying to think of movies featuring Ottawa as itself and the only one that came to mind was the cult horror film “Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter”, which I only probably know of because I was living in Ottawa at the time.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by niwell

^I'll check it out!

I was trying to think of movies featuring Ottawa as itself and the only one that came to mind was the cult horror film “Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter”, which I only probably know of because I was living in Ottawa at the time.

Ottawa has "bit parts" in Quebec movies and TV series all the time, when there is a (federal) political angle to the story. But it's basically never featured as the main setting for Quebec movies.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

Are you claiming it’s part of the Canadian identity to obsess about petty details of American politics? There is no “liberal left” in the US? There is no “Native American hero” mythology?

I’m pretty sure Canadian-American has a very different identity and outlook of regular Canadians.

It's... complicated.

Sorta like Argentina and Uruguay.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

The first country is perhaps the greatest reproducer of its own idealized image in history, and the second barely knows itself. It just wants "Wall Street Hustle but in Toronto".

Louis Riel. The October Crisis. The Winnipeg General Strike. The Halifax Explosion. The assassination by gunshot to the neck of Thomas D'Arcy McGee. These are things that the Americans would have long ago turned into epic period pieces.

Do.

For.

Self.

When I was younger I used to marvel at how Hollywood could turn a relatively mundane corporate legal case over pollution or cigarette advertising into this epic historico-fictional piece of entertainment that had all the smart kids at my senior high or university cafeteria talking about as if it was really, really important to them.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

This is exactly it. Canadians want to be a bigger part of their imaginary "CanAmerica" through complaining. The United States is the United States, and Canada is Canada.
.

I've said many times that Hollywood never really aspired to be anything other than the national entertainment industry of the United States of America.

It's mostly just Canadians who have a mistaken identity syndrome about it and are pissed off that it doesn't provide them with enough recognition as a nation.

[dc_denizen]

Most great movies are not about nationalistic storytelling and collective aspiration, but about individuals whose triumphs and troubles transcend boundaries and content requirements

That article about ivar reitman was interesting

Cultural gatekeepers at nationally funded institutions always want to make the next ‘wild strawberries’ or ‘three colors blue’ except set in Toronto, and not meatballs and heavy metal

Their loss

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Most great movies are not about nationalistic storytelling and collective aspiration, but about individuals whose triumphs and troubles transcend boundaries and content requirements

I broadly agree but the best stories (and ironically the most relatable, universal ones) are the ones that are rooted somewhere in an authentic way. I am not Italian but I was completely mesmerized by Cinema Paradiso.

I find pretending to be something you're not is far less compelling. And that's what the vast majority of Canadian cinematic production does - unfortunately.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Cultural gatekeepers at nationally funded institutions always want to make the next ‘wild strawberries’ or ‘three colors blue’ except set in Toronto, and not meatballs and heavy metal

If you're talking about the trilogy by Krysztof Kieslowski that was awesome!

Especially Rouge.

[Gresto]

Of the three, I liked White the most.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Most great movies are not about nationalistic storytelling and collective aspiration, but about individuals whose triumphs and troubles transcend boundaries and content requirements

That article about ivar reitman was interesting

Cultural gatekeepers at nationally funded institutions always want to make the next ‘wild strawberries’ or ‘three colors blue’ except set in Toronto, and not meatballs and heavy metal

Their loss

I worked on the terrorism flick; "The Sum of All Fears" in pre-production, and the film crew (95% Canadian) near the end of the shoot got baseball caps that said; C.I.A. Retired. A small production gift from the C.I.A. So much for Nationalism. Mind you, that film was wrapped a couple of months before 9-11. It may have changed since then.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I was thinking about those two.

More recently, The Trotsky with Jay Baruchel was also set in Montreal.

I'm going to have to check that one out.

[Steely Dan]

what about movies that give off a more "neighborhood" vibe of their cities rather than the more cliched, stereotypical, landmark, iconic, downtown stuff?

i'm thinking of a movie like Mystic River for boston, it really dug into a specific subset of boston, not necessarily the entire city writ large.


two of the better "neighborhood" movies for chicago that come to my mind are Cooley High (a criminally underappreciated chicago film) and Stir Of Echoes (Kevin Bacon's woeful attempt at a chicago accent notwithstanding), they really seem to inhabit specific spaces within chicago, rather than the city as a whole as a character in the movie like in Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Blues Brothers.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

Today, the large majority of Brazilian movies are like you described, regular ones, showing normal people’s lives instead of fictional warzones. I don’t like them, but I guess many are available on Netflix or Prime.

I really enjoyed Wild Tales by Argentine filmaker Damián Szifron. You can watch it here on Amazon Prime.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

what about movies that give off a more "neighborhood" vibe of their cities rather than the more cliched, stereotypical, landmark, iconic, downtown stuff?

i'm thinking of a movie like Mystic River for boston, it really dug into a specific subset of boston, not necessarily the entire city writ large.


two of the better "neighborhood" movies for chicago that come to my mind are Cooley High and Stir Of Echoes (Kevin Bacon's woeful attempt at a chicago accent not withstanding), they really seem to inhabit specific spaces within chicago, rather than the city as a whole as a character in the movie like in Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Blues Brothers.

Do the Right Thing probably qualifies as a neighborhood movie as well. I think that was Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn? Been a while since I watched it.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Do the Right Thing probably qualifies as a neighborhood movie as well. I think that was Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn? Been a while since I watched it.

Yep. It made a ton of people angry too, so great movie!

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Do the Right Thing probably qualifies as a neighborhood movie as well. I think that was Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn? Been a while since I watched it.

yes.

Do The Right Thing is exactly the "neighborhood" vibe i was talking about. a fantastic film.

[JManc]

Several movies in Boston's Southie; Good Will Hunting (though parts in Cambridge), Departed, Gone Baby Gone and of course, Southie.