Touches You

Nice effects though.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Ramona (Valerie Buhagiar) is a meek worker at a Toronto record label. The rock band 'Children of Paradise' has gone off the deep end in Northern Ontario. The record label chief wants to terminate their tour. Ramona insists on going north to find them for her job despite not knowing how to drive. It's a strange odyssey. The lead singer Matthew has disappeared. On the road, she encounters various characters including roadkill filmmaker Bruce Shack (Bruce McDonald) and aspiring serial killer Russell (Don McKellar).This is a black and white cult Canadian indie rock independent movie. It starts with a compelling guerrilla filming of the Toronto Passion Play. Director Bruce McDonald has a sizable supporting role. He's not a good actor but often, an indie can't find good enough actors. This does have the intriguing Buhagiar and the wonderful McKellar. She is able to hold the center and he has some brilliant turns. I wish he is in more of the movie. There is great indie music from the era and this is utterly memorable.

Rough and raw in the best sense. Delightfully quirky, damned funny, with the odd, faintly haunting moment worked in. My thought a few years ago, seeing it in a video store was, okay, I remember it got my attention first time round in the theatre, but this was ten years ago; what happens if I rent it and see it again?Answer: it holds up quite well. Yes, the very raw (read 'cheap') production values shine through everywhere; this is part of the fun, after a while. The rough black and white footage makes rural Northern Ontario look properly bleak (and occasionally sinister -- hey, I grew up there; and trust me -- it's appropriate), and, at times, coldly beautiful. Buhagiar is deliciously bemused throughout as the stranger in a (very) strange land, and McKellar's wannabe serial killer is an absolute scream (listen for the line about upward mobility, hockey, crime, and weak ankles; I'll avoid spoiling it for you).It's probably blasphemy to some fans' ears to say it (it's McDonald, it's rock 'n roll, and you're not really supposed to take any of these things too seriously), but on some levels, this is almost a film of substance despite itself, if you go looking for it. Again, it's partly the atmosphere: the melancholy question -- "whatinhell are we all doing here anyway, and exactly why are we bothering, again?" -- a question naturally posed by the area -- works its way in at the edges of the frame. The response of the lead singer of the fictional "Children of Paradise" -- to shut up entirely, and suffer the absurdity of it all without comment, from behind haunted, hollow eyes -- actually makes a fair bit of sense, given the environment.The dialogue is weak through much of it, and not always much helped by the sometimes amateurish delivery, but there are some brilliant moments. Co-writer McKellar, who, in my view, hit his stride with the quietly apocalyptic (see it; I'm not explaining here) *Last Night*, was still working on his game here (and McDonald, honestly, I've always found a little lean this way). But there are definite flashes of great things to come.The soundtrack's got an eclectic thing going for it. As with all three films in the loose 'trilogy' this one started (see also Highway 61, Hard Core Logo), this is a film about rock 'n roll, and is something of a document in this respect -- it features songs by the Cowboy Junkies, the Ramones, and Nash the Slash, to name a prominent few.Overall, a strange sort of Northern Ontario travelogue -- but not exactly the Chamber of Commerce version. More the "come here if you like cold bleak scenery, and consider running over animals a sport" version. Highly recommended, if you're looking for something distinctive, memorable, and frequently, amusingly quirky.

I highly recommend this movie. It will probably not appeal to mainstream audiences, but that is to be expected. It's a brilliantly done low budget indie that may remind you of Tarantino, even though it was years before Reservoir Dogs. In fact, I'm surprised Tarantino hasn't acquired for Rolling Thunder(his distribution company). I know he's familiar with the director because he reportedly has the rights to one of his other films. You will have difficultly finding it in America. I recommend checking the internet auctions regularly. I assure you it is worth buying to see it, even if you only watch it once. Since it's so unknown in America, you can probably get it cheap as well. You may have noticed I haven't said anything yet about the plot. I think if I tell you plotlines you won't believe me. That's how "out-there" it is. And worth your time and money. Get this video.

An interesting look at one woman's journey of discovery, Ramona must find the ambulatory band, Children of Paradise, in order to find herself. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Ramona meets a cab driver without a brain, a film-maker without a heart, and a serial killer without courage. In leading them to their own paths of personal growth, she discovers her own. An excellent, little film that is worth checking out though it may be difficult to find outside of Canada.