Canada's most politically incorrect film

Quebec filmmaker Denys Arcand's Testament, released last fall, screened this month at WIFF  and now available online, is the most politically incorrect film, at least coming from Canada, possibly ever made, or since there's been the term “political correctness.” This is an almost guffaw-a-minute send-up of contemporary modern mores, aka woke. That it has been made in Canada is stunning. But, as we've seen in that province’s official rebuke to issues like religious symbols, in Quebec there may be more tolerance, shall we say, for questioning bien pensant opinion. And Testament does it in spades. Jean-Michel Bouchard (popular Quebec actor Rémy Girard) is an aged archivist living in a retirement home, the name of which oozes satire "Parizeau-Duplessis." The film opens with a pianist performing for residents and a zoom in on a background mural, of Jacques Cartier meeting the Iroquois with Mont-Royal in the background. Oh oh. Will this soon be controversial? Bouchard is a little "out of touch,” as an office subordinate says, because he doesn’t use electronic gimmicks to pry into people's lives to gather archival information. At an awards ceremony stereotyped activist writers climb over him to accept prizes for works like Vaginas on Fire and Oppression & Vengeance. He’s told to leave a discussion of "the intersexualization of identities." But Bouchard’s is a peaceful life, the elder bachelor, going for cemetery strolls. "I’ve spent my life in a peaceful province in a boring insignificant country," yet such places are "the happiest." A friend, a fitness freak and competitive cyclist, mocks his inactivity, only himself to come to an ironic end. "He never smoked or drank alcohol...we went vegan" wails his distraught wife. But the archivist gets caught up in a predictably contemporary crisis when a woke mob starts picketing the retirement home. The Cartier mural "is a painting of a foretold genocide," barks a non-native protester. Home director Suzanne Francoeur (Sophie Lorain) is intimidated and contacts her health ministry superiors in Québec City who tell her in no uncertain terms to fix the problem. "The last thing we need is a conflict with the First Nations." Francoeur (spoiler alert) acts accordingly but creates a bigger scandal when the art world denounces her as a philistine, sacrificing a famous mural and artist – “The French-Canadian Michelangelo" - on the altar of political correctness. That, ironically, sparks demonstrations by Québec nationalists shouting, “Save our Heritage” and “Quebec is our history” with Quebec’s unofficial anthem Gens du pays playing in the background. Francoeur, for her part, is to be "exiled to Quebec City." The movie has myriad mocking asides, from sending up video games to pronouns, tattoos, gender neutral washrooms to Quebec culture itself. "I saw a boring Quebec film at a matinee," sighs Jean-Michel. Also slighted are sacred cows Cirque du Soleil and Celine Dion. And the province's response to Covid, arguably the worst in Canada when it came to nursing home outbreaks, also comes in for a shellacking. The Quebec City minister tells Francoeur "during the pandemic the government was completely lost" but kept up “appearances” like it has to do on this issue. That this movie was made in any country in an otherwise woke film industry is remarkable. That it was made in Canada, in 2023, albeit in Quebec, is rather astounding.

 

Doc overturns accepted George Floyd narrative

Throw away all you know about the George Floyd case. A new documentary The Fall of Minneapolis gives a totally opposite narrative from what the world has come to know as the “murder” of Floyd on Memorial Day 2020 with the complicity of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, now convicted and serving more than 20 years. Made by former local CBS affiliate anchor Liz Collin, the documentary is remarkable in showing reams of police body camera video from numerous angles and from an overall context of prior to the arrest to the ensuing detainment of Floyd outside a party store that fateful day. Why were we never exposed to these images and voluminous evidence? Here are some of the film's salient points. Floyd’s “I can’t breathe” iconic quote - used as a universal rallying cry against police brutality and to Defund the Police – was said many times before Chauvin pinioned him to the ground, including sitting up in a patrol car. The body cams show the immense struggle police had with Floyd, who was arrested after allegedly passing counterfeit bills. The bodycam footage was denied as trial evidence. What about Chauvin allegedly kneeling on Floyd’s neck preventing his breathing? The official autopsy found “no physical evidence suggesting Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation” as he did “not exhibit signs of petechiae, damage to his airways or thyroid, brain bleeding, bone injuries, or internal bruising.” But toxicology tests showed Floyd had a “fatal level of fentanyl” in his blood along with methamphetamine, suffering from Covid, severe “arteriosclerotic heart disease,” with one artery 75% obstructed, and “hypertensive heart disease.” The documentary says the FBI intervened and the report was changed to find Chauvin to blame. Cause of death had become “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” What about Chauvin’s knee restraint? This is by the book MRT (maximal restraint technique) which all police officers were trained in. This despite the police chief’s denial on the witness stand. Judge Peter Cahill refused that manual evidence. There’s more, a lot more. The images and content are shocking and make you ask how such a miscarriage of justice, by the state and prosecutor’s office, could ever have taken place. The answer? The braying mob outside the courthouse, and media and political opinion in the charged racialized atmosphere, demanded a sacrifice. Watch yourself at The Fall of Minneapolis | A Crowdfunded Documentary (www.thefallofminneapolis.com)