David O'Connell
Who Loves The Sun @ Possible Worlds
November 29th 2007 22:14
The beer was ice-cold Kokanee and the film was Who Loves The Sun, a brilliantly executed movie about the grumpy reunion of three friends who used to summer together at an idyllic cottage on the clear waters of a beautiful Ontario lake.
Director and screenwriter Matt Bissonette has captured the feel of summer in Canada down to the last detail, from the sink in the bedroom, to cliff jumping, to fishing on the lake. After 6 months of a cruel winter, lakeside cottages are the only refuge for Canadians, a group of people that greet the long summer days with the thrilled excitement of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalid.
Bissonette wrote a magnificently spartan script involving just 5 actors and one location, packed with wonderful dialogue and plenty of opportunities for sunset shots. Unfortunately, as the director and producer revealed in the Q&A after the screening, political constraints forced them to use different locations in both Manitoba and Ontario. Nevertheless, the shooting was finished in 20 days.
Perhaps the most satisfying effect of Who Loves The Sun on the Sydney audience was, for me, how funny the movie is. The audience laughed heartily throughout, which is an incredible feat considering how tragic the story is.
And that's the deal: Who Loves The Sun is a terrific example of Canadian humour at a fundamental level... Canadian humour is self-deprecating and sarcastic, as taken from the British, but also quite surreal and absurd, enjoying a laugh at the ridiculous. If you've ever seen a moose, you can understand the need to laugh at something that seems so out of place in a frozen wasteland.
The three main actors, Lukas Haas. Adam Scott and Molly Parker, carry the film with remarkable poise, rendering a fine range of emotions, from lust to pure hate. Trapped at the cottage, with no way of leaving except swimming across the lake, they're forced to endure each other. The irony of the idea of 'freedom' in the wilderness creates a situation where the three friends have to get along with each other, no matter how much they'd like to leave.
I was fortunate to see the Australian premiere of Who Loves The Sun, which was well-received by the audience, including my cynical Australian friends. It'll be showing again on Dec. 3rd, as a fully-accessible screening for people with a disability - I strongly recommend that you catch this fabulous Canadian feature.
I say: Highly recommended. You love Canada, right? You love our big mountains and our maple syrup and our good looking hockey players, right? Well, this movie is a more realistic depiction of holiday life in Canada than I've seen in a long, long time.
See it for: Molly Parker is Canadian, but the other two male actors are both from California, originally. I won't hold it against them since they fight so well. Also, yes, the title is a Velvet Underground song.
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