We seem to be a board with varied cultures, with people from all over. So, I thought it would maybe be fun to recommend to the board, some domestic movies that have impressed us from our home countries, so that we can explore a bit from the comfort our own homes during Covid. Include the title, a description in your own words and why you're including it, and possibly a trailer. For American movies, I'd like to stick to independent rather than hollywood blockbusters, as they should be movies we possibly don't already know about.
So, I'll start, with a movie from Canada.
The Grizzlies [Drama]: A bit of context on this for the setting, as this is set in the far northern reaches of Canada's territory of Nunavut, which is predominantly made up of small isolated Inuit communities, where food and basic necessity prices are very high, and where suicide rates are some of the highest in Canada. The premise follows a teacher who's just graduated and sent to one of these remote towns to become a school teacher, only to find that it's not as simple as he was led to believe. Kids are not staying in school due to numerous cultural reasons, and the man has a love for the sport of Lacrosse (one of Canada's national sports), and when he sees that the students are either not attending school or are generally not attentive, he decides to introduce the sport to the kids, in the hope of giving them something engaging to do. It's a great movie and one that is inspiring, one of triumphing in the face of adversity, and a bit like Mystery, Alaska which itself was a good movie. But as in that movie, it's more than just about the sport, but about the community rallying around it. Throughout his day to day life he learns about the issues these people are facing, but the movie never beats you over the head with them. Instead they're just there as a reality of what they've had to face. IMHO, it's one of the best Canadian movies I've seen recently, and honestly quite refreshing to see a movie be so honest and upfront. I hear this one is available on Netflix in some countries.
So, I'll start, with a movie from Canada.
The Grizzlies [Drama]: A bit of context on this for the setting, as this is set in the far northern reaches of Canada's territory of Nunavut, which is predominantly made up of small isolated Inuit communities, where food and basic necessity prices are very high, and where suicide rates are some of the highest in Canada. The premise follows a teacher who's just graduated and sent to one of these remote towns to become a school teacher, only to find that it's not as simple as he was led to believe. Kids are not staying in school due to numerous cultural reasons, and the man has a love for the sport of Lacrosse (one of Canada's national sports), and when he sees that the students are either not attending school or are generally not attentive, he decides to introduce the sport to the kids, in the hope of giving them something engaging to do. It's a great movie and one that is inspiring, one of triumphing in the face of adversity, and a bit like Mystery, Alaska which itself was a good movie. But as in that movie, it's more than just about the sport, but about the community rallying around it. Throughout his day to day life he learns about the issues these people are facing, but the movie never beats you over the head with them. Instead they're just there as a reality of what they've had to face. IMHO, it's one of the best Canadian movies I've seen recently, and honestly quite refreshing to see a movie be so honest and upfront. I hear this one is available on Netflix in some countries.
