Monday 6 January 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
MAGNOLIA
Magnolia is a complex story of nine interconnected lives during one day in San Fernando Valley, California. 'An autopsy of the human condition' by writer/director P.T. Anderson. A great film for a long winter's evening, an epic 3 hour 15 minutes that will surely not bore you.
Stars: John C. Reilly, Tom Cruise, Melora Walters, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Jason Robards


Monday 13 January 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
49 DEGREES
A terrific doc about surfing Van Isles' West Coast. "Dogtown & Z-Boys North". 49 Degrees - which refers to the 49th parallel and the Fahrenheit water temperature at Sombrio Beach. I'm sure many Victorians know the surfer culture and squatter community and the beautiful part of the world that this film very ably portrays.

Monday 20 January 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
MEN WITH BROOMS
Men With Brooms chronicles the reunion of a near-championship curling team from the fictional town of Long Bay, Ontario. The team - a drug dealer, a mortician, a guy with a single digit sperm count trying to impregnate his wife and a leader who calls himself a naked cheater. Their mission: win curling's coveted Golden Broom trophy and keep their collective lives from getting knocked through the ice.

Stars: Paul Gross, Molly Parker, Leslie Nielson, Michelle Noldan, Peter Outerbridge


Monday 27 January 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
MONSOON WEDDING
"Monsoon Wedding is a colorful, exuberant celebration of modern-day India, family, love, and life." I loved this film, especially the wonderful hand-held photography that shows you amazingly just what you need to know and also the serious subplot that gives this otherwise light film real substance.
Stars: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Vasundhara Das


Monday 3 February 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
RUNAWAY TRAIN
Two escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a train with no brakes and nobody driving tearing up the rails through the Alaskan winter. Based on a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, this has been descibed as an existential action movie. Tough, some violence, but a totally engrossing ride!
Stars: Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner, John P. Ryan, Kenneth McMillan


Monday 10 February 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
ON GOLDEN POND
Warm, reflective, touchingly basic human drama, with Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in their only screen roles together and Fonda in his last. They spin a tale of two cranky strong-minded seniors facing the challenges of old age, the modern world, frailties, feuds and forgiveness. Here1s an invite to spend a couple of hours in their summer cabin world when the family drops by.
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Dabney Coleman, William Lanteau


Monday 17 February 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
About A Boy
A refreshingly unpredictable new film starring a remarkably untwitchy Hugh Grant as a mid-life guy who is pleased to report he does "nothing, nothing really..." Life gets more involving as he attempts to exploit what he perceives as a pool of hungry single mothers looking for uncomplicated relationships.

Monday 24 February 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
From Grief To Action
From Grief To Action follows families in Vancouver's Kerrisdale area whose kids have fallen victim to addictions. Ironically, there it's said to be easier to order drugs than a pizza. They don't even take your return phone number, they just deliver. Members of the From Grief To Action support/advocacy group will join us for this important topic.

Monday 28 February 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Standup Samurais
STAND-UP SAMURAIS is a documentary about the "farm team" comedians that do the small town circuit in Western Canada. Picture a Seinfeld-in-an-'85-Hyundi-heading-for-a-$75-gig-in-Fort St. James or Alert Bay. With their participation we'll look at the connection between mental health and comedy. It's a sparky and delicate balance.

Saturday 1 March 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
rollercoaster
rollercoaster takes place on the deserted midway the the PNE and broaches the topic youth at risk and suicide. Filmmaker Scott Smith will join for a Q&A. The story was inspired by a real incident. The film's web site www.rollercoasterthemovie.com wonderfully describes the film and creative process.

Monday 3 March 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Fix: The Story of an Addicted City
Nettie Wild's powerful feature documentary about the Vancouver Downtown Eastside has much for Victoria to consider as our city faces losing "The War On Drugs". Five characters; an addict, an activist, a mayor, a businessman, and a cop on the most discouraging beat in Canada all struggle with the issue of opening a safe injection site. Warning: scenes of drug use, this is happening in Victoria.

Monday 10 March 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Remembrance & Life's a Twitch
Remembrance is another special new Canadian medium-short film, currently nominated for a Genie. It's a period piece based on a true story about a man with a special talent for remembering, a glimpse into a pivotal moment in his life.

Duncan McKinlay has Tourette Syndrome. Life's a Twitch is a brilliant new film about a young man who has been challenged with Tourette Syndrome and has just received his PhD. He's boisterously leading the campaign to educate about the condition. Twitch is film that beautifully fits it's subject.

Monday 17 March 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Ocean's Eleven
It's a slick heist movie, a fun adventure to lift a huge amount of money, cleverly, from someone who doesn't deserve to have it anyway, a really nasty Vegas casino czar.

Monday 24 March 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Pitch
Two guys from Canada with a film script to sell make an impressive film about their process. Forget the script, the journey is the story. Everything from Mom's recipe, The Red Elvises, to a kitchen gadget salesman embellish this Quixote-like quest that takes them from the Toronto film Fest to Hollywood.

Monday 31 March 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Windhorse
A MM encore of this special film for Human Rights Month. A gripping drama shot partly in secret in Tibet and Nepal that tackles the issue of China's oppression of the Tibetan people. With discussion including Falun Gong practitioners and the Canada Tibet Committee. It's interesting in our venue to consider China's use of "psychiatric treatment" for the oppression of Falun Gong.

Monday 07 Apr 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
A small film that has had a huge reception. Tom Hanks bankrolled this one-woman show to star its Canadian creator, based on her own experience as a Greek woman in a predominantly Caucasian society and industry.

Monday 14 Apr 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
My Name Is Walter Cross
A new, realistic film about schizophrenia. Walter most reminds me of Spalding Grey's SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA. Our rumpled protagonist tells us what his experience is like, how he feels about the pills, his brushes with the system, the isolation, where he finds comfort - his life from his perspective. No terrific effects, phoenix-like turn around, or Spider-like creepiness. Just what it's really like for many.


MY NAME IS WALTER CROSS is a film that portrays schizophrenia. The star of this piece is not a Nobel Prize winner. Nor is he a mumbling, stumbling, monochromatic, dangerous stereotype used (Spider-like) to advance a creepy plot.

The film Walter most reminds me of is Spalding Grey's SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA. Just a guy sitting at a table, most of the 51-minute running time, delivering a spellbinding monologue about his life. If Spalding Grey had schizophrenia . . . .

He lines up medication containers in front of him and talks about the trials of coping with the "zines and the peens", talks about the loneliness, the voices, poverty, estrangement, pills, and paranoia that haunt his life.

In a tour de force actor Marcel Aymar portrays a weary middle-aged man, straw hair, stubbled chin, rumpled sports coat. The remarkable thing about the piece is that this man's rambling soliloquy is not interrupted by a voice of authority or cutaways to other helpful information, but stays with him. Hears him out. He's allowed to say his piece, to complain about the meds and the unhelpful 'help' he's received from "the System", the loss of friends to suicide. He also talks about where he does find peace and people who give him comfort in his uncomfortable world. It's the view from his perspective.

By the end we have a very real picture of this man's life. It's not a pleasant one. But we admire his intelligence, his spirit, and his perseverance. He1s real and we care about him.

I think writer/director David Dawson has achieved something quite special with this project. It was a breakthrough moment when the world-wide audience realized they were sharing John Nash's delusion in A BEAUTIFUL MIND. Nash's is a one of a kind story. Anyone will come away from watching WALTER with an equally intense impression of what schizophrenia can really be like. Unfortunately Walter's experience is a more common one. And so all the more important for us to share.

This is an excellent film to provoke discussion, and to help others understand at least one example of the reality of living with schizophrenia. Walter would be an ideal film for any mental health related library.

David Dawson is a psychiatrist, (born at our Jubilee Hospital, past Chief of Psychiatry at the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital), and is determined to present the real experience lived by many who live with this difficult condition. Walter's character is built from real people he has worked with, one individual particularly. Building on the strengths of this first modest production Dawson has produced a feature film DRUMMERBOY, that premiered in in his home town April/03.

At Movie Monday we screened Walter April 14/03 with a short film about a local artist named Hans Fear presented by his friend Jay Rathore. Hans had schizophrenia and struggled with the illness before succumbing to suicide in 2001 at age 31. The two films sparked a lively and balanced discussion on the condition and treatment.

On Monday Aug 25 /03 we'll be screening My Name is Walter Cross again, this time with Dr David Dawson with us in person for what promises to be a most engrossing Q&A. I hope we'll get some glimpses of his new feature DRUMMERBOY that has been submitted to the Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver Film Festivals.


Monday 21 Apr 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
A Company Of Strangers
A classic NFB film about a group of elderly ladies stranded at a deserted farmhouse with only their thoughts and memories to sustain them. Through the long days and nights, they share their innermost thoughts and feelings - turning the crisis into a magical occasion. A book written after the filming by one of the non-actors that made up the cast will add to our presentation.

Monday 28 Apr 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Bottle Rocket
An odd, small movie that grew from a B&W 13 min short to a feature with encouragement from the Sundance film fest, follows a pair of misfits who wanna-be outlaws. It's hard to succeed at that profession but real-life brothers Owen & Luke Wilson did make a film that's off-beat and surprisingly warm hearted, the kind of film you'll think about for days after.

Monday 05 May 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Far From Heaven
A married couple in Connecticut in 1957 whose relationship becomes strained when he realizes that he's in love with another man. She looks to her gardener for support, but befriending an African-American man causes tension in her conservative community. Pg13

Monday 12 May 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
The Producers
A 1966 Mel Brooks romp that's recently been a huge hit on Broadway. This classic farce follows Zero Mostel as a con artist and Gene Wilder as his hapless accountant attempting to stage a flop that, of course, backfires. Way over the top acting by everyone, with memorable songs like "Springtime for Hitler". The film stumbled out of the gate but became a huge hit with Peter Sellers endorsement as the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

Monday 19 May 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Obachan's Garden
For Asian Heritage Month This documentary with dramatized sequences tells the story of the filmmaker's 103 year old grandmother who came as a "picture bride" to Steveston, B C and made a new life there, but was haunted by the life she left behind in Japan. Culminating in a reunion with a long lost daughter (and a long lost garden) this film is an intensely personal reflection of Japanese-Canadian History and a testament to one woman's incredible endurance and spirit. Pg

Monday 26 May 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Post Concussion
POST CONCUSSION also special for Asian Heritage Month. I've been tracking it down for years, and worth the wait! It's a brilliant and entertaining film and a great third film on the topic of head injury for MM (after When Billy Broke His Head and Breakaway) Daniel taught himself film making and made this first-person dramatized account of his life-changing accident and recovery Pg 13

Monday 2 Jun 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Into The Thunder Dragon
Mountain unicyling in Bhutan! You've gotta see this! Dazzlingly camera work and editing, unbelievable prowess in a new sport by B C riders, with an off-beat travelogue to this exotic Himalayan country - all rolled into one. G

Monday 9 Jun 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Catch Me If You Can
A new release that dramatizes a true story of a con artist who, while evading a dogged FBI gum shoe, convincingly slips into the roles of pilot, doctor and lawyer. The opening animated title sequence is a bonus treat! With Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio Pg13

Monday 16 Jun 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Cannery Row
Still a MM favourite. Our first event (June 14 1993), our fist and fifth anniversary shows and now for our 10th ANNIVERSARY!! I love this film for its off-beat, almost surrealistic setting and characters, based on John Steinbeck stories. The yarn is about a brooding ocean biologist (Nick Nolte) and a girl (Debra Winger), a novice at the 'oldest profession', a group of creative ne'er-do-wells and a few thousand frogs. PG

Monday 23 Jun 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Rabbit Proof Fence
This Australian film dramatizes a true story of some aboriginal girls who were in 1931 separated from their family and against the odds found their way home by foot over 1500 miles through the Aussie Outback. Another example of the sadly world-wide plight of original inhabitants being displaced and "civilized". Powerful soundtrack, incredible cinematography, a haunting visit to a foreign landscape and time. Pg

Monday 30 Jun 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Standing In The Shadows Of Motown
Forty-one years after the "Funk Brothers" played their first note together and three decades since they were all together, these masters of the Motown Sound reunite in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story. Pg

Monday 07 Jul 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Lucky Break
A prison break film of a different nature. A pair of hapless robbers plot to escape from a massive UK prison during a the staging of an musical written by the warden, a nice turn by Christopher Plummer. A musical, an unlikely love story, all in the always intriguing setting of men doing hard time.

Monday 14 Jul 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Last Detail
Here's the young Nicholson in one of his great roles from 30 years ago, a primer for About Schmidt. Two hardboiled petty officers decide to show a young sailor, who's headed for a long stint in the brig, a final good time.

Monday 21 Jul 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Miss Congeniality
Sandra Bullock has fun with the role as a reluctant beauty pageant participant, a federal agent undercover, (uncovered?) with Michael Caine and William Shatner (as the corny pageant emcee).

Monday 28 Jul 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
About Schmidt
A surprisingly, refreshingly "real" film from Hollywood! Nicholson is restrained but brilliant in his portrayal of a retiree trying to find value in his life. The sweetest, funniest and most poignant moments are his naive voice-over correspondences with an off-camera adopted Nigerian boy, Nubagu, as he clumsily negotiates his way through unfamiliar family relationships on a Winnebago road trip.

Monday 04 Aug 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Road To Eldorado
This is a really fun and clever animated feature for the whole family from Dreamworks. I loved the great characters, brilliant artwork, and inventive scenarios as our protagonists, a couple of Spanish tricksters become the "first contact" for the legendary Lost City Of Gold.

Monday 11 Aug 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Flawless
A tough, conservative cop suffers a stroke during a robbery. His recovery requires voice lessons from his drag queen neighbor. The unlikely pair learn to look beyond their differences and find a common ground in friendship.

Monday 18 Aug 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Ararat
Atom Egoyan's new film of the Armenian genocide by the Turks - with Joseph Egoyan on hand for a Q&A, this is their family's story. R some violence.

Monday 25 Aug 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
My Name Is Walter Cross
A repeat of a one of our most important film/discussion events, premiered last April at Movie Monday - about the realities of living with schizophrenia - this time presented by filmmaker/psychiatrist David Dawson.

Monday 08 Sep 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Spirited Away
The Japanese anime that took the Oscar this year for best animated film. In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by witches and monsters, where humans are changed into animals.

Monday 15 Sep 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Bowling For Columbine
Mike Moore takes on the right to bare arms and several other US institutions. With his signature sense of angry humour, this activist filmmaker sets out to explore the roots of the ensuing bloodshed and misery. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent carnage.

Monday 22 Sep 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Spider
David Cronenberg's latest film. "A mentally-disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood." Here's a film with a lot to talk about. Many people thought it brilliant. Some of us didn't. How do you feel about it?

Monday 29 Sep 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Chicago
Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart strive for fame at any costs including scandal and lies - singin' and dancin' in 1920s Chicago.

Monday 06 Oct 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Back From Madness
A documentary about 4 individuals seeking treatment for schizophrenia, suicidal depression, manic depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders at Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital. Archival footage also gives historic perspective on mental health condtions and treatment of the insane. Includes graphic footage. Produced, directed and narrated by Dr. Kenneth Rosenberg. (some disturbing scenes of surgery)

Monday 13 Oct 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
The Hours
The story of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" as told from the perspectives of the author, a lonely '50s housewife reading the book, and a New York hostess who is a modern-day interpretation of the book's lead character.

Monday 20 Oct 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Stairway To Heaven
(Originally A Matter Of Life And Death) Fantasy/Romance/Comedy A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court. An amazingly big concept film that helped heal the wounds of WWII. (1946)

Monday 27 Oct 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Nightmare Before Christmas
Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween -- but alas, they can't get it quite right. some creepy images.

Monday 03 Nov 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Barber Shop
A smart comedy about a day in the life of a barbershop, inhabited by eclectic and hilarious cast of characters, on the black, south side of Chicago. Calvin (Ice Cube), who inherited the struggling business from his deceased father, views the shop as nothing but a burden and waste of his time. After selling the shop to a local loan shark, Calvin slowly begins to see his father's vision and legacy and struggles to retrieve it. It's about an institution that holds a community together, like MM, a lot like MM actually (any offers?).

Monday 10 Nov 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Quiet American
Saigon, 1952, a beautiful, exotic, and mysterious city caught in the grips of the Vietnamese war of liberation from the French colonial powers. London Times correspondent Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine) is an observer until he gets swept into the intrigue. An engrossing adaptation of Graham Greene's classic and prophetic story of love, betrayal, murder and the origin of the American war in Southeast Asia.

Monday 17 Nov 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Post Concussion
A repeat MM presentation, this time with Toronto filmmaker (writer, cinematographer, editor and star) Daniel Yoon with us in person. It's an engaging film about Daniel's own experience of a serious head injury. Think of a hybrid between MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING and ABOUT SCHMIDT made on a shoestring.

Monday 24 Nov 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Zoot Suit
Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots of 1940s Los Angeles. Henry Reyna is the leader of a group of imprisoned Mexican-Americans. The amazing Edward James Olmos stars as the mythical "El Pachuco" in a blend of action, music, and excitement.

Monday 1 Dec 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Criminal Acts: Inside Prison Theatre
Members of William Head on Stage, (WhoS), an inmate owned and operated theatre society, have performed for thousands of theatre fans over the past 21 years from inside William Head penitentiary, near Victoria, British Columbia. Criminal Acts challenges us to rethink the purpose of prison and the transformative power of theatre by juxtaposing scenes of rehearsals, stagecraft and creative collaboration with lockdowns, bed checks and other jarring realities of prison life. Pg13 Tony Snowsill Veteran Victoria filmmaker and director of C A will join us

Monday 8 Dec 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Finding Nemo
A father-son underwater adventure featuring Nemo, a boy clownfish, stolen from his coral reef home. His timid father must then search the ocean to find him. Another hit from Pixar.

Monday 15 Dec 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
Whale Rider
On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

Monday 22 Dec 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
The Second Greatest Story Ever Told & Salvation
The Second Greatest Story Ever Told What would happen if an immaculate conception occured in modern times? It's Brooklyn, 1960, a nice Jewish girl... 33min
Also NFB's Salvation - A documentary about the frontline street workers who serve the needy under the umberella of the Salvation Army. Shot on the streets of Toronto at Christmastime it chronicals the small hopes and tiny victories of life lived in the shadows of destitution.

Monday 29 Dec 2003 alphabetical list  chronological list
The Endurance
Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Journey. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in 1914-1916, featuring new footage of the actual locations and interviews with surviving relatives of key expedition members, plus archived audio interviews with expedition members, and a generous helping of the footage and still photos shot on the expedition. The double length version of the brilliant IMAX film, narrated by Liam Neeson