Dorothy Woodend’s Great Canadian Films of 2020

Sometimes when I think of Canadian movies, lyrics from Sha Na Na’s mid-1970s song “Canadian Money” pop into my head. The gist of the tune is that Canada isn’t quite as big and bold as other countries.

But while it’s true that Canadian filmmakers aren’t churning out many blockbuster, superhero-type films, sometimes smaller, more idiosyncratic fare offers experiences that larger films simply can’t.

The good news is that there was a lot of entertaining Canadian content this year. Documentaries were hitting it hard, such as The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel, but there were gentler ones too, like Moonless Oasis.

Directed by Nate Slaco, Moonless Oasis is an underwater exploration of the glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound near Vancouver. What the heck are glass sponge reefs? Well, I’m glad you asked. Some of the stranger creatures on the planet, they are essentially living dinosaurs, thought to have been extinct since the Jurassic period.

Turns out they’ve been hanging out at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean for the past 40 million years or so, doing spongy stuff. The fact that the reefs weren’t discovered until 1987 is a gentle reminder that mysteries still abound under the sea.

The silica in their bodies that gives the sponges their name, as well as their peculiar physiognomy, allows them to filter billions of litres of sea water every day. They are both curious and beautiful, and the film captures them in all of their otherworldly wondrousness.

As usual, it is humans that pose the biggest threat, fishing for spot prawns and damaging the delicate ecosystems. But for every irresponsible person, there is another person committed to and passionate about protecting this unique treasure. (Glass sponge reefs are found nowhere else in the world.)

Information about the reefs comes from a team of volunteer scientists. At depths that are potentially dangerous for divers, they risk their safety to capture footage of the sites. Scenes of the intricate preparations of diving apparatus and equipment aren’t all that riveting; the footage of the reefs themselves, otherworldly and strange, is mesmerizing. The film is available on CBC Gem.

For more land-locked films, I suggest Sean Garrity’s romantic comedy I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight.

Set in the bleakness of a Winnipeg winter, the film makes the most of its two well-rounded and endearing central characters. Iris (Hera Nalam) and Simon (Kristian Jordan) meet in the depths of a Peg winter and fall into a relationship like it’s a snowbank.

Although the complications of a new romance stray into cliché on occasion, the film piles on enough local colour and weirdness to make the overall story both funny and sweet. The most engaging aspect is easily the delights of the Philippine community, chock-a-block with banquet halls, overbearing parents and enough karaoke to drown the world. The film is available on VOD across Canada.

If you seek weightier Canadian fare, here’s one more worth watching.

Director Sonia Boileau’s Rustic Oracle isn’t easy to watch, but it’s necessary and vital. Boileau takes a straightforward approach to the story of a young First Nations teenager who goes missing. The bulk of the story is told through the experience of her younger sister Ivy, who deals with impact on the rest of her family and community. The film is available to rent on Vimeo.

And so the cliché that Canadian films are cold, sludgy affairs wherein people play hockey and participate in terrible relationships can safely be retired. Except for when that bummer Atom Egoyan shows up and makes everyone feel bad.

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