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| "Borealis" co-stars Jonas Chernick (left) and Joey King |
At this year's Montreal World Film Festival, which
concluded its 39th edition this past Labour Day (Sept. 7), I managed to catch only
one film, and what a really good one it is! It's the Canadian feature called
"Borealis" by Sean Garrity, which had its world premiere at the MWFF,
and it's a road trip movie with plenty of humour and humanity. Starring Jonas
Chernick (who also co-produced the film and wrote its screenplay) and Joey
King, it tells the story of a rather dysfunctional father and daughter (the
former is a chronic gambler who owes a crushing debt to a violent bookie --
played to scene-stealing perfection by Kevin Pollak -- and the latter a
rebellious teen who is gradually losing her sight to a visual disorder) who hit
the road from Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba so they can catch the natural
wonder that is the Northern Lights, as a means of re-establishing their fragile
family ties. From beginning to end, you really care about the main character's
respective quests -- both naturally and emotionally -- and hope they are
reached with success. So if you would like an entertaining, reaffirming time at
the movies, "Borealis" delivers it with flying colours. I wish the
film a great deal of success, as it heads to the Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton
and Sudbury film festivals before its general release in theatres across Canada
early next year. For more information about “Borealis”, go to www.borealisthemovie.com.
