Canadian Film: Top 10 List

Canadian film has been underappreciated for decades by Canadians themselves. There are numerous reasons for this. American dominance at the theatres across the country limits the amounts of screens that Canadian film can be shown to the masses. Distribution of Canadian films on the secondary DVD market lacks financial backing. Canadian cinema has quite a different feel than the blockbusters coming out of Hollywood and therefore Canadians who are accustomed to Hollywood film styles feel less comfortable watching a Canadian movie. Lastly, many Canadians suffer from an inferiority complex when comparing cultures with the Americans.

It is quite positive to note though, that at this time, more than any other time in Canadian film history, Canadians are watching more home-grown cinema. They do not gravitate towards it like they do American films, but they are participating in greater numbers and frequency than ever before.

Over the last few decades, Canadian film has gained attention both internationally and domestically. Our films are looked on with respect and honour. It's not hard to understand why with the quality of our directors, producers, writers, editors and cinematographers. It seems we will always be under the dominance of Hollywood and their multi-billion dollar marketing and distribution networks, but at least we now have a Canadian film industry that can be celebrated and enjoyed. It just takes a little bit of effort.

To peak the interest of all those budding Canadian film watchers who haven't had the time to pay attention to Canadian film. Here is a top 10 list, with an extensive must viewing list to follow (10 movies does not represent our film industry justly). Some films you will recognize, others you may even think are American, but all are Canadian and worth seeing.

1. Exotica (1994) - Atom Egoyan I'm sorry but all the critics are wrong, this is Egoyan's greatest film not The Sweet Hereafter. It's sexually charged, mysterious, creepy and totally engrossing. If a film's greatness is its ability to stand up to repeat viewing, then Exotica is a masterpiece.

2. Porky's (1982) - Bob Clark It's stupid, moronic, immature and the funniest teen sex comedy ever released. It created the sub genre. The Kim Cattrall "Lassie" scene is one of the gut-wrenchingly funniest scenes in movie history especially watching Doug McGrath (Coach Warren) almost pop all of the blood vessels in his head before hiding under a mat hanging on the gym wall. It's too bad the sequels didn't live up to the original.

3. Whale Music (1994) - Richard J. Lewis Maury Chaykin, an American who got his success north of the border, is a tour de force as crazy musician Desmond Howl. You have very little to criticize when a film gives you great drama, humour, angst, tragedy, and a soundtrack by the Rheostatics that is considered by many, including myself, as one of the greatest albums in Canadian music history.

4. Scanners (1981) - David Cronenberg I could fill this list with Cronenberg films with Rabid, The Brood, The Fly, and others but I'd rather keep it to one film per director and Scanners is Cronenberg's best film (although Rabid seems to enter my player more because of Marilyn Chambers performance). Cronenberg has a dark and sickly crearive mind and Scanners shows it off best.

5. Eclipse (1994) - Jeremy Podeswa 1994 was a great year for Canadian film, maybe the best in our industry's history. This film by Jeremy Podeswa re-enforces Canada's reputation for drama dealing with sexually explicit frankness. Mixed with different film stock (we see B&W, Rust-tinged, and Colour photography), Eclipse shows many characters performing sexual acts that many would consider immoral in a casual, unassuming manner, all the while groupies and scientists gather in Toronto for a solar eclipse.