It’s no secret that us Canadians tend to live in the cultural shadow of our neighbours down South, and true to that reality, there are few, if any, notable Canadian films that carry that same sense of patriotism as any number of American classics. (Whether or not we can consider this a good thing in our increasingly colonial-conscious world is up for debate.) In any case, Canada offers a deep well of rich and diverse filmmaking that exists for more than just tax write-off on Hollywood productions, so this Canada Day, it might be worth a look to check some local productions off your bucket list. Expressing and exposing the eclectic cultural fabric that is the Great White North, here are five Canadian films to watch this Canada Day.
Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006)
As you’re likely to discover from watching Canadian films—or even just living in Canada—a large part of our cultural DNA lies in the inherent tension that exists between the French-speaking province of Quebec and the rest of the country. While it’s not always a fun time (spend more than a weekend living under the Quebec government and you’ll see why), there is an underlying sense of comedy to be mined from this sometimes-friendly rivalry, and Bon Cop, Bad Cop exposes it under the guise of a classic buddy-cop framework. The story of a pair of detectives—one from Quebec and one from Ontario—forced to team up on a case when a body is found literally dead-centre on the border between both provinces, director Erik Canuel finds a fair bit of cultural difference between the two human placeholders for this provincial rivalry. Within the scope of a typical police procedural, Bon Cop, Bad Cop is by no means high art, but the stylized shooting and distinct humour are more than enough to place it in the same league as whatever jingoistic headache Michael Bay was producing at the same time.
My Winnipeg (2007)
Most of the spotlight in Canadian culture may be evenly split between Toronto and Montreal, but further West in the Prairies, we’ve got provincial capitals like Winnipeg making waves every now and then. In 2007, that wave came in the form of local filmmaker Guy Maddin, a distinctly idiosyncratic artist and writer, making his hometown the subject of one of his gonzo documentaries. My Winnipeg, as you can probably guess by the title, takes us into a subjective view of precisely what it was like to grow up in Manitoba’s capital, particularly in the eyes of the film’s oddball guide. Threaded together by Maddin’s manic voiceover, frantic editing and a unique texture evocative of the silent film era, My Winnipeg is certainly worth a more experimental dive into corners of Canadian culture that don’t always get the most exposure.
Incendies (2010)
No, Incendies isn’t really set in Canada for a large portion of its runtime, nor is the spoken language through most of the film either of our national tongues. But on a list about notable Canadian films, it would be a crime not to mention Denis Villeneuve, and when it comes to his strictly Canadian fare, you can’t get much better than this. The story of a pair of siblings who retrace their recently deceased mother’s steps as she lived through an unnamed civil war in the Middle East, Incendies was instantly touted as a masterpiece of characterization and formal precision, showcasing the massive potential Villeneuve had even just before his major Hollywood takeover. Though not Villeneuve’s first film, nor his most Canadian, nor even his best (though it’s pretty damn close), Incendies is easily one of Villeneuve’s most essential artistic statements.
Mommy (2014)
Yep, we’re making one more stop in Quebec—sorry guys, as annoying as this province can be much of the time, most of the country’s best movies are made here. This time, rather than looking to an older Quebec cineaste like Denys Arcand or Michel Brault, we have no choice but to acknowledge the wunderkind prima donna himself, Xavier Dolan. A distinct craftsman from the age of 19 whose penchant for melodrama would eventually drown his later works in saccharine sentiment, you’d nonetheless find no more effective use of histrionic storytelling conventions than Dolan’s singular masterpiece Mommy. Split between three incredible performances by Anne Dorval, Antoine Olivier Pilon and Suzanne Clément, Dolan’s 2014 film literally suffocates its characters in a constrained aspect ratio and a blaring pop soundtrack that all perfectly encapsulate the values and horrors of living with someone who needs your help, in spite of how much they’ll put your empathy to the test. You’ll never hear “Wonderwall” the same way again…
Blood Quantum (2019)
Part of being Canadian is reckoning with the atrocious treatment of our distinct First Nations populations, and while the average person is unlikely to seek out a documentary or narrative film that directly confronts that sense of settler guilt, that doesn’t mean there isn’t enough genre diversity in Indigenous productions to potentially reach out and pull outside viewers in. Writer/director Jeff Barnaby (R.I.P.) decided to take the horror approach, creating a distinctly Indigenous zombie survival film that gets just as bloody as it does thoughtful. A commentary on generational trauma and the realities of Indigenous life—its title comes from American laws dictating how governments define one’s Indigenous ancestry based on bloodlines—Blood Quantum still finds room to be entertaining in the process, making for a wholly unique and worthwhile experience.
So, there you have it. five Canadian films that give just a taste of the varied stories and storytellers these lands host. Whether you’re actually celebrating this Canada Day, observing your own cultural customs while enjoying a day off from work, or watching us from across the border in confusion while you wait for the Fourth of July with a cold one in hand, the options for keeping yourself entertained just got a bit longer.
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