Lago Porcupine

Bea and her mother is moving to Port Severn for the summer. It's cottage country and a small lakeside community. Her father inherited the local diner from his father. Her mother wants to sell it and the marriage is in trouble. Bea is befriended by Kate. Bea is shy and prone to panic attacks. Kate is from a troubled family with troubled older brother Romeo. Kate takes Bea as her girlfriend as she brings Bea into her world.

I've never heard of filmmaker Ingrid Veninger. She seems to be a bit actor in Canada turning to indie filmmaking. There is an interesting voice being used. The two young actresses have the presence and the connection. There are limitations. The story does hold back from the most dangerous possibilities. During the climatic action sequence, the filming lets down the needed thrills for intensity. It takes some interesting moves but this is still very much an indie.

Beautiful and surprising coming of age film. Authentic to the core. I had the pleasure of seeing the premier of this film at TIFF 2017, and the entire cast and creative team and crew were present for the Q&A. The sense of family and heart and generosity, led by director Ingrid Veninger, during the Q&A was felt throughout the entire film.

Film Review: Porcupine Lake. Director, Producer, Writer (here) and actress Ingrid Veninger proves she clearly has a pulse on the youth coming of age summer experience. Bea (Charlotte Salisbury - a young version of Helen Hunt) finds herself in Northern Ontario, as her mom Ally (Delphine Roussel "Almost Adults" 2016) reluctantly agrees to meet and work at her out of town dad Scotty's (Christopher Bolton "Rent-like-a-Golie" TV) roadside cafe. Enter local rambunctious and fast-talking fellow youth Kate (Lucinda Armstrong Hall "Neighborhoods" TV), who befriends Bea and quickly becomes her friend, confidant and summer attraction. Surrounded by preoccupied parents, and a slue of stereotypical small town folk (including the terrific facial expression given by gay boy Emile "Maxime Robin Tom Clancy's Jace Ryan" 2018), the girls find ice cream, candy, knick-knack selling and experimentation easy to come by. Veninger's quiet back woods Ontario setting provides the girls a carefree and safe setting to observe and do as they please. What works here is that while the setting is without confrontation, there is an underlining energy that all can feel, yet no one is willing and/or able to address. Salisbury and Armstrong Hall are like two little "Thelma & Louise," unafraid of what lies ahead, yet cautious as to what each day has to offer. Running at about 1 1/2 hours, the films pace will lose many. DVD/VOV release: August 14, 2018

This is really a nice film about two girls who meet, discover each other, and become very close friends very fast. Having grown up in a resort community I can attest that this rapid development from strangers to bosom companions can and very often does happen during summer vacation. It's charming to watch the principals in this film contend with the strange new feelings that are an inevitable part of adolescence.

One drawback I just could not get over was that actress Charlotte Salisbury seemed to have no chemistry with the dog, who was apparently always looking off to stage left for his handler!

The details of the real-life Port Severn community are fascinating - the restaurant/petrol depot really exists as depicted and appears consistently in the film.

(2017) Porcupine Lake DRAMA

Co-production design, produced, written and directed by Ingrid Veninger that opens with the mother, Ally (Delphine Roussel) driving her 13 year old daughter, Bea (Charlotte Salisbury) and the family dog, Callum to a small Ontario town to the father, Scotty (Christopher Bolton) diner/ coffee shop. And we find out that the diner itself has always been a part of the dad, Scotty's family for a long time. Until one day, Bea decides to sell some crafts outside from her dad's diner, and another teenager about the same age, Kate (Lucinda Armstrong Hall) decides to help her sale some. Both Bea and Kate then strike up a friendship. We are then introduced to Kate's family, with the one to pay attention to is her older adult brother, Romeo (Harrison Tanner) as he has a noticeable gash on the back of his head, and Bea asks Kate about it that regards a motorcycle accident. And that one of the riffs between Bea's mom and dad is that Bea's mom,Ally wants Scotty to sell the diner, while Scotty wants to keep it in the family. And that they are technically separated as Bea's mom actual profession is that she is a teacher in Toronto.

Upon watching this movie, I initially thought the town Be's mother was driving to was called "Porcupine Lake", but as it turns out as you continue to watch it that there is actually an area called "Porcupine Lake", so it would have been nice if the makers informed viewers what small town they are being driven to instead of looking it up. There is a small moment that is reminiscent to "Ladybird" in which Bea unexpectedly hops off her mom's car while she is driving, knocking her unconscious. Except that "Porcupine Lake" was released almost two months earlier on Oct 6 before "Ladybird" released on Dec1. The other issue I had with this movie, although a minor one was that at first I thought it was Bea's dog that was killed by Kate's brother Romeo, but as it turned out it some other dog, I never seen nor have noticed before, It just became relevant out of nowhere to which Romeo went to authorities and confessed to the crime. It is things like that viewers wish they are told a self-explanatory story line.