I enjoyed most of the movies I saw this month, including a fantastic thriller set in Atlantic Canada and a straight-up propaganda film that was the most Canadian non-Canadian film I’ve ever seen.

The King Tide

Canada | 2023 | 100m | English

This was the best new-release Canadian film I’ve seen since Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. Set in Newfoundland and Labrador, The King Tide is a slow-burn drama about an isolated community who grow to depend upon a mysterious young girl whose presence brings healing and miracles. What does she represent, and what do the people who want to wean their community from her represent? Is she a religious figure like Christ? A personification of welfare or state handouts? The script delivers plenty of symbolism to chew on and stays engaging throughout, perfectly spacing out its reveals and dramatic twists. This gets a strong recommendation from me.

4.5/5

Evil Does Not Exist

Japan | 2024 | 106m | Japanese

Alright, if The King Tide is a “slow-burn,” then Evil Does Not Exist is a “slow-slow-burn.” This Japanese movie about a rural community facing an unwanted development from a “glamping” company whose reckless plans threaten nature sure takes its time. I like that Evil Does Not Exist explores a variety of perspectives, showing how people find themselves in situations that they don’t enjoy or even agree with, all because they’re simply trying to find work and get by. But most scenes plod on for far longer than they need to; their length makes the comparatively quick pace of the falling action and conclusion jarring rather than satisfying.

2/5

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

United Kingdom | 1943 | 163m | English, French, German

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a British movie with a big, grand story that spans from the Boer War to World War II. The central theme is Britain as a noble, honorable force fighting against enemies who use ignoble, “dirty” tactics to win. With a large cast of characters and a surprising amount of non-English dialogue left untranslated, I didn’t feel like I totally followed everything that happened. There were definitely a few standout scenes, however, such as an impassioned monologue from Colonel Blimp’s German friend to the UK Department of Immigration. There is also a duel scene with an incredibly long build-up only to end just as the duel itself begins; at first I felt cheated, but thinking back, I think there’s a kind of brilliance in that decision by the director. This is a movie that shows its age, but I’m glad I watched it.

2.5/5

Chicken for Linda!

France, Italy | 2023 | 73m | French, Italian

Chicken for Linda! is an extremely charming French animated film about a mother and daughter who go on a comically circuitous journey searching for a chicken to cook for dinner. It’s goofy, heartfelt, and touching. The animation style is unique and creative. I think all ages will enjoy this.

4/5

Shakma

United States of America | 1990 | 100m | English

If you’ve heard of this movie, you probably learned about it from the same RedLetterMedia episode that I did. When the Revue Cinema in Toronto put on a 35mm screening of this forgotten B-movie about a baboon that kills people inside a locked building, I made sure to get my ticket. Shakma is not a good movie by any objective measure (it’s hard to be afraid of Shakma when he looks so adorable trotting upright towards the camera), but I had a lot of fun with it regardless.

3/5

Demolition Man

United States of America | 1993 | 115m | English

I hadn’t seen this early 90s blockbuster starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, and Sandra Bullock. Taking place in the near future where crime has been all but eliminated, society has no choice but to de-thaw rogue cop John Spartan from his cryogenic prison once his nemesis escapes from the same prison and enacts violence that modern society is comically unequipped to handle. Demolition Man is perhaps slightly more comedy than action, but it excels at both. I really enjoyed this movie.

4/5

UHF

United States of America | 1989 | 97m | English

UHF, also known as “the Weird Al movie” – no, not the biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe – stars the parody songwriter himself as the manager of a small-time local television station. This setup allows for all sorts of colorful characters to have their time in the spotlight, including the bizarrely dedicated janitor of the TV station (played by Michael Richards) who ends up as the host of its highest-rated show. This is a fast-paced, silly movie that I imagine is a favorite of 80s kids who grew up with it. I think it holds up great.

3.5/5

49th Parallel

United Kingdom | 1941 | 123m | English, French, German

I really enjoyed 49th Parallel, a war drama propaganda film commissioned by the British Ministry of Information and meant to convince audiences from the then-neutral United States to join World War II. A German U-Boat sinks in the Hudson Bay, and its six survivors trek across Canada (a hostile, Allied nation) towards the United States, where they’ll be safe from prosecution thanks to that country’s neutrality. One by one, however, the Germans are picked off by the Canadians they encounter, from fur traders in the north, to Hutterites in Manitoba, to Mounties in Banff.

It’s intriguing that the main characters of the movie are its Nazi antagonists, as if the director was encouraging audiences to judge for themselves who the real good guys and bad guys are. Some suspension of disbelief is required – realistically, the Germans’ accents, even if they could somehow all speak flawless English, should have been enough to give them away immediately to whomever they encountered in Canada – but the movie does manage to build real tension and keep you guessing who will remain living by the end of the story.

An interesting historical note is that by the time the movie was released in America, its purpose had already been invalidated; Pearl Harbor had happened three months earlier and the U.S. had already entered the war. But even with its propagandistic theme rendered moot, 49th Parallel holds up as a worthy watch for its script, acting – and for me, at least – its heroic portrayal of Canadians.

4.5/5