Cinéfest Sudbury Dispatch #4: WOW, MOVIES ARE AMAZING.

Man, Cinéfest is really going out with guns blazing. We watched three movies this afternoon and two of them were among the best we've seen all year! You know it's been a full afternoon when you skip out on MAPS TO THE STARS, Cronenberg's latest film and probably the biggest draw in this year's circuit.

So, first: RED ARMY by Gabriel Polsky.

I don't know why it is that two of my favourite documentaries of the past couple years have been sports docs (the other being WINNING TIME about the infuriating, entertaining, legendary Reggie Miller), but so be it.

Most good documentary films will engage the viewer whether or not you care particularly about the subject matter, in this case, hockey. But RED ARMY is not just about hockey - it's about a clash of cultures that was heating up during the Cold War and most intriguing of all, the story is told from the perspective of the Soviet Union and their world-dominating players, led by Slava Fetisov, the protagonist of this film. Entertaining, enlightening, funny, and poignant, this film is a must-see for anybody interested in history, cross-culturalism, or hockey. The hockey is really good.

Secondly: MOMMY by Xaviar Dolan.

DAMN. First of all, Montreal native Dolan already as FIVE feature films under his belt and he's only 25 years old. They've all won prizes and been lauded at places like Cannes, but what do they know. What the heck.

This is the first of his films I've seen and oh my word. MOMMY is a gripping, tragic, and oddly inspiring work of art that left me both invigorated and exhausted. I'm deliberately not posting the trailer as we went into this without having seen it and I think our experience was better for it. The performances by Anne Dorval as a single mother struggling to make a life with her violent teenaged son played by the explosive yet tender Antoine-Olivier Pilon are disturbingly powerful. Suzanne Clemént is equally magnetic as the conflicted neighbour who tries to help the volatile family.

If you see these come to a theatre near you - be the first in line to check them out!