The weather is turning cooler so we are in the homestretch for Canadian films on Saturday nights on CBC.
You might think we never get surprised about a Canadian film when doing this feature.
Happy Place definitely qualifies as a pleasant surprise. The film features 7 women in an inpatient-care facility. They struggle with their own pain and learn to rely on each other.
The film is based from the theatrical play by Pamela Mala Sinha, who is in the film cast. Helen Shaver directed the film, which is a big deal to your humble narrator. The cast also includes Clark Backo (Letterkenny), Marie-Eve Perron, Tara Rosling, Liisa Repo-Martell, Jennifer Wigmore, Sheila McCarthy, and Mary Walsh.
This feels like a good film you would find in a video store but outside Canada, this film is difficult to find.
Carmen is not a surprise to us. A quiet film that definitely feels more like Malta than anything visibly Canadian. English actor Natascha McElhone plays a woman who took care of her brother, the local priest. The Catholic Church then abandons her and she has to rethink what her life could be.
The film comes from Maltese-Canadian Valerie Buhagiar, who is known actor-wise from Roadkill and Highway 61.
Room For Rent may seem familiar since CBC played the film this summer on July 6. A lottery winner talks his parents into taking a questionable boarder into their home. Mark Little plays the lottery winner and American actor and comedian Brett Gelman (Fleabag) plays the boarder. We reviewed the film last week.
Percy is a very good, real life story told like it was a TV movie. Disappearance at Clifton Hill gives a realistic feel to Niagara Falls with a sharp acting performance by David Cronenberg. Hannah Gross overshadows the non Canadian lead Tuppence Middleton, which is a drawback to the film. Still a better film to watch than Percy.
American Woman (2019) is a fictional account of Wendy Yoshimura, the real-life woman who cared for Patty Hearst after she was abducted. Sarah Gadon plays Pauline, the kidnapped heiress. Semi Chellas adapted the Susan Choi novel and directed the film in her feature directorial debut. The film also stars Hong Chau, John Gallagher Jr., Lola Kirke, and Ellen Burstyn.
Chellas is Canadian so that accounts for most of this Canadian film in name only.
All 3 of the September 28 films played last September on CBC.
Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.
September 21
9p Happy Place (2020)
11p Carmen (2019)
1a Room For Rent (2018)
September 28
9p Percy (2020)
11p Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2018)
1a American Woman (2019)
Canadian film review: Room for Rent
Canadian film case study: Carmen
Malta submits a Canadian film for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars
Canadian film review: Percy
Canadian film review: Disappearance at Clifton Hill
These Canadian films offer a decent variety in the next couple of weeks. Maybe you missed Room for Rent earlier this summer.
CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for mid September 2024
CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late August 2024
CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024
CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024
CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024
A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason
A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason
A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.
CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage
CanadianCrossing.com film reviews
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.
logo credit: CBC
video credit: Photon Films and Media
photo credit: Disappearance at Clifton Hill
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