C. R. A. Z. Y.

It's Christmas 1960 in Montreal when Zachary arrives on the scene. He's the fourth son to be born to the Catholic, French-Canadian middle-class Beaulieu family. There will be one more son a few years later. Yvan will join brothers Christian, Raymond, Antoine and Zac in this CRAZY family. The father is proud, arrogant and loving in his limited way. He is obsessed with Patsy Cline, Buddy Rich and Charles Aznavour. He expects his kids to be just like him. Too bad. The Mom is kind, sensitive and absolutely convinced that Zac has been given a gift from God to heal the sick and quiet crying babies. The Tupperware lady told her so. The story centers on Zac and his search for identity. He is played as a child by Emile Vallee (Son of Jean-Marc Vallee, the film's writer and director) and as a teen and young adult, by Marc-Andre Grondin. The poor kid has problems from day one. His birth is traumatic and he is declared clinically dead.
The doctors are able to revive him, only to have Dad drop him on the floor. As a child he struggles with bed-wetting, asthma, obnoxious brothers and the fact that he likes to wear his Mom's bathrobe, fuzzy slippers and pearls. Instead of a hockey game for Christmas, he hopes for a baby carriage. He knows he's different, but he believes that if he prays hard enough his life will change. As he becomes a teenager he is rebellious and angry. He idolizes David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Lee (sorry, Dad). He finds himself helplessly attracted to his cousin's boyfriend and hates himself for it. Since praying didn't help change him, he becomes an atheist. Ironically, he heads to the Holy Land of Jerusalem on his quest for definition. Although he feels completely alienated from most of his family, he has a deep spiritual connection to his Mom. He senses that something is very wrong at home and arrives back just as the family is experiencing a tragedy. It will take a few more years before he comes to accept himself for who he really is and figure out his place in the family. This is the Canadian version of the dysfunctional, heart-breaking, loving, hilarious, faithful,
All-American, CRAZY family. (Oh yeah, did I mention that the Dad loves Patsy Cline?) From 2005, with subtitles.

You know these people.
You love these people.
You are these people.

It's great!

Blue State

"Blue State" (2007) hasn't been released yet, but I had a chance to see a screening recently. Breckin Meyer stars as John Logue, a devoted John Kerry campaign worker in the 2004 presidential election. He maintains a blog called "Donkey Revolution", drives a Volvo, doesn't eat meat and won't buy gas from a Mideast oil supplier. He is determined to make a political statement. The night before the election, he vows to move to Canada if Bush wins. Being pretty toasted at the time, he doesn't realize the local news channel has televised his threat. Kerry loses, and friends and bloggers wait for the big move. He treats it like a joke at first, but then he gets a phone call from a Canadian woman who runs a service called "Marry a Canadian". She wants to help him with the transition. Lots of pretty faces on her website seal the deal. He advertises for someone to share the ride to Winnipeg (of course he carpools) and along comes Anna Paquin as Chloe. Chloe is intentionally mysterious, complete with blue hair and nose ring and we don't understand her motivation for the trip until about a mile before the Canadian border. But along the way we meet John's parents and learn a thing or two about conflict. When they arrive in the Great White North, John and Chloe learn much about America, themselves, each other and what it really means to make a political commitment. (Hint: Google "Strawberry Statement" before you see the movie). This film is written and directed by Marshall Lewy. Anna Paquin and her brother, Andrew produce. I enjoyed the heck out of it.

It's good.