Arts and Recreation in
Northern Ontario
Independent Film in Northern Ontario
Everyone has a
Confession
I hadn't expected
the weekend to start with a 300 pound log swinging from 30 feet in the
air and smashing into the chest of a life sized Transformer. But there
it was, a grown man dressed as an action figure, getting whacked and
smacked and beaten up. The only problem with starting with a big old
bang... is now you need an even bigger bang. To keep it interesting.
Peter Lynch
can keep it interesting.
I've read "Peter
Lynch is one of the finest Canadian filmmakers..."
Yeah! He's as
good as it gets. And that is good indeed. He creates films that defy
categorization, he finds breathtaking ways to deliver the story, to
entrance, to entertain, and ultimately, he finds a way to change you. If
you leave a Peter Lynch film the same person you were when it started -
maybe you weren't watching.
Having spent as much
of my life in the United States
as in Canada, I have chosen to live on this side of the border. But I have a beef with
Canadians and Northern Ontarians
in particular. Living in the States as a child I learned early on to be
proud of my history, my country, and my people. I was taught to be
curious about where we came from and what happened along the way to make
us the people we are. I was taught to take a sense of identity from my
surroundings and my community; I learned that I was shaped by it, and I
learned to take pride in that shaping. I have always felt a lack in that
area in Canada;
it's something I miss experiencing around me in a real day to day way.
Perhaps Peter said it best, "We take our land and our history for
granted; for us history is something that happens somewhere else."
Peter's films show
us in our entire Canadian splendor. Our foibles, our quirks, and our
silliness are all splashed there on the screen. But so too is our
nobility, our honour, and our grandest dreams. His films about other
people somehow give me a sense
of who I am under the masks I wear and allow me to find a fit into
the sweeping history that has shaped the land I chose to call home. His
films allow me to make friends of people who may be obsessed,
extravagant, or a bit off the target, but when the film is over,
these people are mine. And I love them. Peter shows us that myths are
not always born on Grecian mountains and far away places. He knows the
difference between facts and truth. And he shows us that heroes are where ever you find them.
He's a filmmaker
that can capture a man dressed as an action figure getting bashed about
by logs - and somehow - make us proud that man is one of ours! We want to
cheer that man on and celebrate his quest, even as we shake our heads and
wonder what we're doing. Peter doesn't do this by hiding the dark bits,
or by pulling his punches, or sugar coating the choices of his subjects; they should
be so lucky! He does it by being spectacularly honest about these
things, and then standing out of our way as we realize through our
laughter, or our pain, that these things make us human.
On the first evening
I met him Peter said to us, “everyone has a confession.” He’s a man that
can hear those confessions and see the universal myths and grand quests
that live within each of us. He sees the heroes, and then he makes them
interesting.
