"And so Congress will have a choice of the USMCA or pre-NAFTA, which worked very well." — Donald Trump
Despite the lavish signing ceremony for the post-NAFTA agreement, the new trade agreement may run into a snag despite the Democratic leadership will be in charge of the U.S. House in January. The Dems might still pass the agreement somehow but only because they are in the habit of capitulation in the name of compromise.
Countries can withdraw from NAFTA, which would kick in 6 months after the announcement. Trump has said he will withdraw from NAFTA but U.S. law isn't crystal clear as to whether Congress needs to approve that move.
Canada is trying to remove the stigma of the ugly USMCA by renaming the deal CUSMA putting Canada first. The NAFTA name is starting to look better.
Even though the CUSMA will hurt Canada on many levels, the Liberals will pass the new deal in Parliament. The Conservatives are more into free trade than the Liberals so we'll see if they have any real objections. The senators might take their time, but maybe not as slow as their path with the marijuana legalisation bill.
The NAFTA withdrawal is designed to force the Dems to pass the new trade agreement. Canada does have an ace up the sleeve, something that the U.S. have virtually forgotten even exists: The Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement would be the standard bearer if NAFTA didn't exist.
The Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement was negotiated in 1987 and signed by the country leaders in 1988. The CUSFTA standard was the impetus for NAFTA negotiated by Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as well as U.S. President George H.W. Bush, who passed away on Friday.
If the goal was to truly reinvent NAFTA, then let's start with the work of CUSFTA. Start from as close to the bottom as you can and truly rebuild a new NAFTA. Going back to CUSFTA would also take out the threat of GM moving jobs to Mexico.
GM's plans last week to close the Oshawa, ON plant as well as 4 U.S. plants is a reminder of the threat of auto jobs to Mexico. While that might seem unfair to Mexico, so was going behind Canada's back on USMCA/CUSMA. Canada would negotiate a separate trade deal if NAFTA didn't exist.
The move could be seen as playing to Trump's bizarre theory that 2-way trade agreements are significantly better than 3-way trade agreements as well as getting Mexico out of the deal, but Canada needs to be in a good deal and CUSMA is not a good deal.
There is also the issue that tariffs on steel and aluminum still exist as well as tariffs on softwood lumber and the Bombardier planes. The threat also exists for tariffs on cars between Canada and the United States. There is no plan to get those tariffs to go away. The tariffs are part of the reason why GM is pulling out of 5 plants in Canada and the U.S. We haven't heard a peep from the WTO on the U.S. tariffs against Canada.
If CUSMA becomes official, there will be no incentive to renegotiate the deal in the future. The only leverage is to not have CUSMA become a reality. CUSFTA is not an ideal situation but there is huge incentive to build on that ancient agreement to give Canada a chance to have a trade agreement that benefits Canada.
We are sorry if you came to this article looking for NBA basketball or if you were chasing an In-N-Out burger with 2 beef patties with 2 slices of cheese.
This double double is about something truly Canadian. For those not familiar, a double double is a coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars at Tim Hortons. The fun part is that they put in the cream and sugar so you get the drink without the extra work.
During the 2018 Windsor International Film Festival, I decided to be a part of that Canadian experience. To give some perspective, I am not a coffee drinker. If you are looking for someone to tell how great anyone's coffee is, you are on the wrong blog post.
I ordered the Simply Sausage biscuit, 2 chocolate Timbits, and a small double double. I did order the drink to get the hockey trading cards too.
My double double was quite hot. I opened the little flap but couldn't get it to close properly. I brought the drink into my first film of 6 films that day, so the caffeine would be helpful.
I did let the coffee cool off a bit. When I went back to the coffee, the drink was warm but not hot.
The double double was pretty satisfying though a bit on the sweet side. I could drink the coffee, which isn't always true for a black coffee. In the future, I might want to play with getting a double single (2 creams, 1 sugar) or a double (2 creams). The Double Double did accomplish what few cups of coffee can do: mask the taste of coffee so I could drink it.
There are non-coffee ways to feel Canadian. They don't always involve donuts or poutine or donair but often they do. Eating ketchup chips or all-dressed chips or having fries with gravy are gateways to feeling Canadian. Lamb burgers seem Canadian. A double double might be the quickest and cheapest way to feel Canadian.
"I didn’t have the courage to do Cleopatra, so I did it in Canada." — a paraphrase of what Dame Maggie Smith said in Tea with the Dames (2018).
Tea with the Dames is not a Canadian film but Smith's comedic timing made a Canadian audience laugh. That is a good way to start out our look at the Canadian films at the 2018 Windsor International Film Festival.
Feature films
Giant Little Ones is about 2 teenage boys — Franky Winter (Josh Wiggins) and Ballas Kohl (Darren Mann) — who are very tight. Both are key members of the school swim team. They have an unseen encounter after Frankie's birthday party. The next day, Ballas accuses Frankie of making a sexual move on him and ends the friendship.
All the signs are there. Franky's best friend is a lesbian (Niamh Wilson) who is trying to come up with a replica phallus. He isn't aggressively into girls. And his dad (Kyle MacLachlan) left his mom (Maria Bello) to be with another man.
Franky starts hanging out with Tash, the kid sister of Ballas. Tash has the reputation of being a "slut" but we find out that was more sexual assault than "slut."
Writer-director Keith Behrman doesn't take the obvious paths for Franky or the other characters. Female characters in these type of films are often 1-dimensional at best. Taylor Hickson as Tash will break your heart with her surprising vulnerability around Franky that no one else gets to see. Wilson as Mouse, Franky's lesbian friend, is sweet and funny in her phallus curiosity.
I did wonder if the presence of American actors MacLachlan and Bello would be overwhelming but both actors respected the story and responded accordingly. This story is a great example of how Canadian film can tell certain stories in a mature adult fashion that an American film could never do.
Splinters is not your typical coming out story from a filmmaker (Thom Fitzgerald) who is stellar in handling gay and lesbian issues on film. Belle (Sofia Banzhaf) returns to her family in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia for her father's funeral. Belle left the family after the acrimony of coming out as a lesbian to her mother. Now Belle has a boyfriend but doesn't want to tell her mother.
The interaction with Belle, mother Pearl (Deb Allen), and brother Greg (Bailey Maughan) feels like a play at times, even after the boyfriend Rob (Callum Dunphy) shows up anyway.
Belle is wrestling whether to be with Rob or with women. Her ex-fiancee Claire also lives in the small town and Belle and Claire run into each other. Sofia Banzhaf performs well as the lead and has to do a lot in this film.
Fans of The Hanging Garden from deep in Fitzgerald's past will recognize the ghost imagery in both films. Look for folk musician Stewart Legere performing during the wake at the house, a nice Nova Scotia touch.
The Grizzlies is based on the real-life story of a lacrosse team in Kugluktuk, a hamlet that is the westernmost community in Nunavut.
The story follows the path of typical sports films. Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer) is using his time in the North to pay off student debts and parlay that experience into a desired teaching position. Sheppard is there to teach history but it's not the history of the people in the classroom. They have many reasons why they aren't in school. Sheppard tries to motivate them, struggles with that, but then comes up with lacrosse as a way to keep them off the streets.
The difference is this film shows the native actors dealing with real-life saga of teen suicides, choosing between school and hunting for needed food, teen pregnancy, and domestic abuse.
Miranda de Pencier directed and co-produced the film with Nunavut filmmaker Stacey Aglok MacDonald, who is from Kugluktuk. Moira Walley-Beckett, showrunner for Anne with an E, and Graham Yost co-wrote the script.
Will Sasso has a role as the best friend to Sheppard who shows him the ropes of the area.
The film balances the need for a motivational sports title with true-to-life stories about people who live in such hamlets. We learn small things about the culture such as not needing to knock on people's doors.
1991 is the latest installment from Ricardo Trogi in a series of films that reflect moments from his life. In 1991, Trogi is studying screenwriting at UQAM when he goes off to study in Italy mostly to chase after a young woman. If you had seen 1981 and 1987, you wouldn't be surprised about Italy since his family is Italian-Canadian. The humour is similar to the other 2 films where Ricardo Trogi (our protagonist) has a lot of flaws and mishaps.
When Trogi finally finds the Canadian embassy, he does make reference to how much nicer this was than a theoretical Quebec embassy had the 1980 referendum gone through. Trogi also name drops Rene Levesque. At several points, Trogi does speak of being a proud Quebecer.
Baby Blues (2008) is a locally shot film that I picked over a current locally shot film (The Control). Josie is starting over. She has to talk her way into a waitress job at the Whistling Kettle Country Dinner (an actual local restaurant). Her friend Mani helps get Josie the job. She tells Josie "if they order fries, suggest gravy."
Josie meets Max, a musician customer who only orders water and sits at a table for hours. Turns out Josie and Max are both hiding secrets. We see Josie's flashbacks so we know something tragic happened.
The film has a few flaws such as waiting way too long to reveal Josie's issues, wondering what kind of diner allows customers to order only water, and certain elements of her back story. Those who complain that Canadian film looks like well, Canadian film, this film doesn't have the best production values.
The characters are likable and the story is interesting enough. The major issue is that the story keeps the audience too much in the dark for far too long.
Canada is really good at horror films, whether the obvious scare or a more subtle fright. The 2018 Windsor International Film Festival featured 3 different kinds of fright.
Level 16 takes us in what might seem to be a finishing school for teenage girls but set in a prison. Reaching Level 16 is the last level before adoption. The young women have gone through years of obedience in a world where making friends can be dangerous.
Katie Douglas, who you might know from Mary Kills People, is Vivien, a tough girl who demands the best bed when she gets to Level 16. Sophia (Celina Martin) tries to convince Vivien that things are not what they seem in their world.
Sara Canning (Miss Brixil) and Peter Outerbridge (Dr. Miro) are very well cast as the adults in the institution. You might remember Outerbridge from Kissed and Better than Chocolate.
Danishka Esterhazy gives us a world of heightened femininity but also feminist in that no man is literally going to save them. The film works as science fiction and horror but is engrossing if you like neither genre.
What Keeps You Alive is part psychological thriller with plenty of horror to be found. A lesbian couple settle into a cabin in the middle of the woods. The cabin has been in Jackie's (Hannah Emily Anderson, Shoot the Messenger) family since just after Canadian confederation. Jackie's wife Jules meets Sarah, a childhood friend of Jackie's who calls Jackie "Megan." Sarah also reveals that their childhood friend Jenny drowned in the lake next to the cabin when they were teenagers.
Writer-director Colin Minihan takes us through an intense pace with well-drawn characters. You never quite know what is happening. This is a smartly presented horror film. The film was shot in Muskoka, ON.
Summer of ‘84 takes us back to a simpler time when people could genuinely be scared. A group of teenage boys in a suburban area in Oregon get caught up in an adventure searching for a serial killer loose who targets teenage boys.
The time period means the boys have to do old-fashioned detective work such as using walkie-talkies. The references are oddly placed at best and at worst feel false to people who lived through those times, especially in suburban Oregon.
The film takes a long time to develop and with little character development to motivate you to stick with the film. There is a serial killer loose yet the only ones who care are the teenage boys. The twists that come at the end feel cheap. The filmmakers did a good job at giving you a bland horror film from this era. That might be genius in a meta direction but might not be too entertaining.
Documentaries
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch follows the pattern of the previous 2 documentaries (Watermark, Manufactured Landscapes) from Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky. The films are filled with beautiful photography and minimalist dialogue. The latest installment deals with the environmental messes caused by human beings.
The film takes us around the world; the only Canada mention was the logging of British Columbia rainforests. There is a segment about the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland and another segment from London where a former bomb shelter has been turned into a hydroponics farm. Does the film tell us whether these things are bad or just there? The film just shows us things, such as an accumulation of elephant tusks. We do know that is bad.
Sharkwater: Extinction is the project Canadian filmmaker and environmental activist Rob Stewart was working on when he died from a dive that went very wrong. The film started as a follow-up to Sharkwater (2006) that first brought attention to harvesting sharks for shark fin soup.
The film takes us to Costa Rica, a country where things were bad for sharks. Laws made things better but a change in government meant more trouble for sharks. We also go to Los Angeles and Miami. In the latter city, Stewart and his crew investigate restaurants and grocery stores looking for shark DNA in products such as pet food and beauty products. Stewart notes that 150 million sharks killed each year but 80 million are unaccounted for in terms of how they died.
The film also covers Key Largo, the site of the final dive. The epilogue covers the accident, coverage, and legacy. (There is a documentary called The Third Dive for more on the accident.)
Stewart turns out to be very personable. Even if you are scared of sharks, you will be on the side of sharks after seeing this film. That makes all the more tragic what happened to Stewart.
Unnamed Verses explores the threatened demolition of 121 housing units in North York in Toronto to build condos. But we learn soon into the film that the story is about the residents of Villaways, specifically Francine Valentine, a young teenage girl who likes to write but is shy to share when she has a chance to record her poetry via rap.
The arts studio in the housing project helps the kids learn and appreciate the world outside the project, including a trip to see the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
We learn that the process for trying to get back into the new housing is complicated. But the film is mostly focused on Francine's world. The gentrification angle gets lost as the personification of people who live in a housing project dominates the film.
Calgary voters had their chances to register their thoughts on their city hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. They said "no" with 56.4% of the vote, according to unofficial vote totals for the non-binding plebiscite.
The plebiscite attracted 304,774 ballots from 767,734 eligible voters for a 40% turnout.
If the vote had gone to the "yes" side, Calgary's chances of getting the 2026 Winter Olympics would have been very good. The other bids were from Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and Stockholm, Sweden. After 3 straight Winter Olympics in Asia (the 2022 Winter Olympics will be in Beijing, China) or near-Asia (the debate over whether Sochi, Russia is in Europe or Asia), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would have welcomed a North American Olympics.
The voters had concerns about the current economy, potential cost overruns, money going away from projects that would help everyday activities, and a bit of confusion over what was and wasn't in the Olympics bid.
The Olympics bid didn't include a new arena or stadium but that is more about the nuances of pleasing the IOC, which discourages new buildings as part of the bidding process. The Calgary bid called for ski jumping to be held in Whistler. This was a money-saving point and that the Calgary’s ski jumps aren't up to IOC standards.
The Yes, Calgary side of the debate came out with a FAQ to try to clear confusion over what is covered and not covered in the Olympics bid.
For many, the 2026 Winter Olympics bid was a motivation for Calgary to build a new arena and stadium that would primarily be used by the NHL Flames and CFL Stampeders. McMahon Stadium has been in use since 1960 and the Scotiabank Saddledome has been in use since 1983.
Those pushing for a new arena will find themselves in the same company as Gary Bettman, no matter how icky that must be. Bettman has been a lot less subtle than most on the topic, noting that every other NHL team is in a new arena or heavily remodeled (Madison Square Garden).
CalgaryNEXT was the only major proposal that included a replacement for McMahon Stadium. The proposal was an arena and stadium side-by-side in the West Village along the Bow River. The CalgaryNEXT proposal didn't get much consideration.
By contrast, the Saddledome is in Victoria Park just north of the Calgary Stampede grounds. McMahon Stadium is in the northwest part of the city. Both facilities have easy access to the C-Train.
With a no vote, the money that could have been used on the 2026 Winter Olympics could go to a new arena and stadium that would primarily be used by the NHL Flames and CFL Stampeders.
Calgary voters who voted "no" should know the arenas discussion will only start up once again. If the vote had been "yes" and the IOC had picked Calgary for 2026, there would have been discussion about new facilities.
For the CFL, new stadiums in Winnipeg and Regina serve as reminders for what Calgary could have for the Stampeders. The NHL with new arenas in Detroit and Edmonton offer inspiration for what Calgary could have for the Flames.
The Saddledome, first named the Olympic Saddledome, was built for the NHL Flames, who moved from Atlanta to Calgary in 1980. The Flames played from 1980-1983 at the Stampede Corral, a facility with a capacity well under 10,000. The Saddledome was built as part of the bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics.
The idea of Calgary hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics was that the 1988 Winter Olympics went so well. Hosting again would have cemented the idea of Calgary being an Olympics city. On the strength of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the 2026 Winter Olympics would have been a great showcase for western Canada around the world.
Calgary will have to visit the idea of updated arenas and stadiums. The Winter Olympics could have justified the building of new infrastructure, including a transit line from the Calgary airport to downtown, such as the one in Vancouver.
There was very little proof after spending a week in Windsor that legal recreational marijuana exists in Canada.
The sign above reminds us that you can't take marijuana across the border, but easier to do if there is marijuana in Canada.
For now, the only legal options in Ontario are growing 4 or fewer plants in your own home or online via the Ontario Cannabis Store if the store is working as intended.
A group set up a symbolic injection site tent in an abandoned section on Ouellette Avenue, the main north-south street in downtown Windsor. That was as close as I got to drugs on the trip.
Marijuana tourism won't be going in the other direction in the short term, even though Michigan voters approved legal recreational marijuana on Election Day last week. As slow as Ontario has gone in the process, far behind all of Canada, except for Nunavat, Michigan marijuana will be slower in coming. This will keep the Windsor area a step ahead.
The bus shelter public service announcement (below) reminds us that the age for marijuana is 19, same as alcohol in Ontario. The age gap with Michigan (21+ for alcohol and marijuana) will prove advantageous.
While Michigan said yes to legal recreational marijuana, North Dakota said no but still has medical marijuana. Michigan joins other border states such as Alaska (Yukon); Maine (New Brunswick, Quebec); Vermont (Quebec); and Washington (British Columbia).
Ontario won't open private stores until at least April 1, 2019 and edibles won't be a factor until at least late 2019. The comparison might be that gambling started in Canada with casinos and then Detroit caught up eventually. Getting that head start is crucial.
The steel and aluminum tariffs that still exist, despite a USMCA/new NAFTA, are hurting the region financially. Adding marijuana to auto parts would be a huge financial boost to southwestern Ontario.
Most of Canada is open to legal recreational marijuana so marijuana tourism does exist elsewhere. Anecdotal evidence: Neither border crossing brought up marijuana. Your experience will vary.
Welcome to Election Day in the United States. Election Day south of the 49th parallel is on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
In the midterm elections, all 435 House of Representative seats and approximately 33 seats of the Senate are open. Unfortunately, House districts are severely gerrymandered seats where the boundaries are drawn to help retain incumbents, mostly Republicans. Iowa is a grand exception to gerrymandering. Unlike the 2016 election, more Democratic Senate seats are up for grabs. Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota), Joe Donnelly (Indiana), and Joe Manchin (West Virginia) are vulnerable incumbent Democratic senators.
The main prize for Canadians with either a Democratic win in the House or Senate is reconsideration for the USMCA aka NAFTA 1.5. A Dem-controlled House or Senate could also tackle the unfortunate tariffs against Canada from softwood lumber and airplanes to steel and aluminum.
Good luck to Michigan and North Dakota on approving recreational marijuana ballot initiatives in today's election. If those states approve recreational marijuana, they would join other border states such as Alaska (Yukon); Maine (New Brunswick, Quebec); Vermont (Quebec); and Washington (British Columbia).
Even if a border state has legalized recreational marijuana, you are not allowed to bring marijuana across the federal border between Canada and the United States.
If you are an American citizen, go out and vote today. If you live in a state where your right to vote has been illegally taken away from you, fight for your right to vote. Canada is rooting for a strong turnout to make a difference south of the 49th parallel.
We criticized the 2017 Windsor International Film Festival for cutting back on Canadian films, going from 31 to 20. Well, the 2018 Windsor International Film Festival Canadian films list has 16 films. The 2016 version was above average in terms of Canadian film, but a film festival in Canada should celebrate Canadian film.
There are only 2 French-Canadian films. Deux!?
The number of documentaries has shrunk to 4, down from 9 in 2017.
Some of the major anticipated highlights from TIFF 2018 include the latest Thom Fitzgerald film Splinters. Splinters is the Canadian film at WIFF 2018 I am looking most forward to seeing. Other top choices would be Giant Little Ones, featuring American actors Kyle MacLachlan and Maria Bello, and The Grizzlies about the indigenous lacrosse team from director Miranda de Pencier.
I will see The Fireflies Are Gone in the Chicago festival. The winner of the TIFF 2018 Best Canadian Feature Film is half of the French-Canadian output along with 1991, the latest installment from Ricardo Trogi.
Documentaries of note include Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, the latest from Jennifer Baichwal; Unarmed Verses, winner of the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award at Hot Docs 2017; Sharkwater: Extinction, the final film from the late Rob Stewart; and Transformer, the Audience Award winner from the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival 2018.
The festival has scheduled a screening each for 2 films with local ties: current release The Control and Baby Blues (2008). They have scheduled both in the same time period so filmgoers will have to flip a coin.
Fans of horror films of various types will enjoy these Canadian titles: Level 16, Summer Of 84, and What Keeps You Alive.
The other documentary is Ferris’s Room, which tells the story of Toronto artist Sarah Keenlyside's recreation of the bedroom from the John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That would seem to be more about Chicago than Canada.
The other feature film is Roobha, a story of a South Asian romance between a middle-aged man and a trans woman.
Films in the festival with a Canada co-production credit are C'est La Vie, Just a Breath Away, and Love, Gilda.
The 2018 Windsor International Film Festival runs October 29-November 4.
Canadians can now add marijuana to their legal shopping lists as of today. October 17 marks the opening day of being able to legally buy marijuana in Canada.
Recent news stories indicate that supplies may not keep up with demand in the first year, and that is without edibles being legal. You might have heard about the possibility of drinkables but those won't be allowed right away either.
Canadians will be allowed to carry up to 30 grams on domestic flights only, as noted in the video (above). On rare occasions, Canadian domestic flights are diverted to the United States.
Bloomberg ran an update last month on where you can purchase recreational marijuana in provinces and territories. CBC News has a guide to how you can access marijuana in the provinces and territories.
As a reminder, people in Canada can possess up to 30 grams. An ounce is 28 grams. The video (above) gives you an idea of what 30 grams looks like. The minimum age is 19 except for Quebec and Alberta, where the age is 18.
October 17 also marks the start of monitoring border crossings. Seeds were planted in Politico about banning Canadians who work in the marijuana industry and/or people who invest in pot companies.
Some of this samples could be real or paranoia; some new ones can easily come along. The rules won't be clear until you find yourself crossing into the United States and they may be randomly observed.
You can get waivers for a lifetime ban but they are costly in terms of money and time and involve a lot of hassle. We wish our Canadian friends a lot of luck in border crossings over the next few weeks.
One adjustment for our friends in Ontario: You will be able to smoke pot in areas where tobacco smoking is allowed. Premier Doug Ford contradicted his own policy by saying you couldn't smoke in playgrounds because of children but could smoke in parks, even though children might be in parks. You still won't be able to buy marijuana in a store until at least April 2019. If you are an American pursuing marijuana tourism, you have better options than Ontario.
One adjustment for our friends in Quebec: Premier-designate François Legault campaigned on a promise to increase the legal age for marijuana to 21 if the CAQ came to power. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is concerned about the potential increase in the minimum age leading to an increase in the black market. Those in Quebec between 18-20 and visitors to La Belle Province will likely have a limited window to indulge legally.
4 of the 9 states with legal recreational marijuana border Canada: Alaska (Yukon); Maine (New Brunswick, Quebec); Vermont (Quebec); and Washington (British Columbia). We will know on November 6 as to whether Michigan (Ontario) and North Dakota (Manitoba) will be on that list.
The states will vote on Election Day whether to have legal recreational marijuana.
Legal recreational marijuana in Canada is an experiment in progress. Respect the process as this unfolds. As Sergeant Phil Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) would say on Hill Street Blues, "let's be careful out there."
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving. Or as they say in Canada, "Happy Thanksgiving." We usually take the Thanksgiving Monday to reflect on Canada from a broader perspective.
For the last few years, we have been fortunate to gather together for a Canadian Thanksgiving on U.S. soil. We worked hard over the years to get more people. In the last couple of years, the total has been around 100 people. Unfortunately, the place where we gathered closed in early April and we couldn't find another space that suited the needs of the Thanksgiving dinner.
Gathering with a smaller group is very nice but the camaraderie of a large group was very special.
I haven't been able to travel as much to Canada lately. I am sad that this has been happening but thankful the situation will improve soon. I also know where I would love to go.
We have a couple of Canadian films in the Chicago International Film Festival. We should have word on the film lineup for the Windsor International Film Festival this week. If you can't travel, film is a good way to experience the world in a place other than where you are.
We haven't reflected too much on NAFTA 1.5. aka USMCA. A lot needs to be said about the deal but the large and small details we've seen are depressing. This agreement should not pass as is but some of the scarier parts aren't as scary.
The idea of being thankful for a new trade deal is more about recovering from the shock. And oh yes, all the horrible tariffs are still in place. The words extortion and "gun to the head" have been used a lot without exaggeration. We will in time have more to say.
We have seen dramatic elections recently in New Brunswick and Quebec. You might not agree with the outcomes but more representation from outside parties makes democracy a bit more vibrant.
Some parts of Canada (above) got quite a bit of snow. Yes, there can be snow in some parts but early October snow is a bit of a shock. Speaking of snow in Alberta, Calgary is in the top 3 finalists for the 2016 Winter Olympics. Calgary is on the list with Stockholm, Sweden and Milan-Cortina, Italy. Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics. Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics.
You may have run across My American Cousin when flipping around cable channels in the United States. A sleepy little film about a 12-year-old Canadian girl in Canada who gets a visit from her American cousin in his beautiful Cadillac.
My American Cousin is based on the experiences of writer/director Sandy Wilson. Though the film came out in 1985, the attention to detail leaves you in an authentic time warp circa 1959.
Margaret Langrick establishes herself well in the lead role as Sandy Wilcox, a girl who can't wait to be a teenager. The car becomes symbolic for her desire to get out of rural Penticton, British Columbia. The cousin is also a symbol of boys, who she is still trying to figure out, and the United States that represents paved roads and freedom.
Butch Walker (John Wildman) is 17 years old, eons apart from Sandy and her friends in age. Butch is chasing after older women than Sandy and her friends. Walker is clearly hiding the reason he is in Canada, which only adds to the mystery.
Wilson does a really nice job with the soundtrack to tell part of the story. Sandy mentions that they only hear rock and roll at certain times where they live in Canada while Butch says they get rock and roll all the time where he lives in California.
We get to see the wonder that is the Okanagan Valley and hear references to Kelowna.
As we noted, the film is a little sleepy and more naive as compared to other films set in this time period. The parents are seen as 3-dimensional characters, something a 12-year-old doesn't always see in the moment.
Wilson also wrote and directed American Boyfriends (1989), the sequel to My American Cousin. To Wilson's credit, some of the naiveté remains true as the story has advanced to 1965. That naiveté comes up against the realities of the Vietnam War, not a concern in Canada but relevant in the United States.
Butch, her American cousin, is getting married in Portland. Lizzie and Thelma, characters not particularly well-drawn in the original film, get swept up in Sandy's trip as well as Sandy's Simon Fraser University roommate Julie La Belle (Liisa Repo-Martell).
Thelma, who is planning her own wedding, drives the girls down to Portland. Butch and Sandy reconnect at the wedding. His present to her is something she has thought about since the original film: the Cadillac. With Lizzie in love with a Marine and Thelma going back to Canada, Sandy and Julie set off on the adventure she has wanted: California.
Sandy and Julie confront the Vietnam War in 2 young men they meet in California who are deciding to serve or run. The sequel is more meaningful in the context of history. The United States is as beautiful as Sandy would have imagined, but this is a different America than she dreamed about in 1959.
Julie’s character is almost drawn in the way Sandy would imagine an ideal travel partner: company as well as someone who easily goes along with the adventure. Julie is from Toronto and is a more sophisticated travel partner than either of Sandy’s childhood friends from Penticton.
You can watch the sequel as a film onto itself, but the original gives some needed context. The other major contrast was that this Canadian film takes place almost exclusively outside Canada. The road trip takes a similar turn in Bruce McDonald's Highway 61.
Both My American Cousin and American Boyfriends play into a common theme in Canadian films about Canadian feelings of inferiority towards the United States. The difference in these films is that the theme runs alongside the plot instead of being dominant.
My American Cousin won 6 Genie Awards and received 11 nominations. The film won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Wildman), Best Actress (Langrick), and Best Film Editing.
video credit: YouTube/J Mac photo credit: American Boyfriends
