The Grizzlies

I have never cried & laughed so much in a movie before, it was so overwhelming from the start to the finish. The casting was perfect, the cinematography was breathtaking & the direction was inspiring. This movie should be made mandatory in schools across Canada.

I grew up in Southern Saskatchewan, my hometown For Qu'Appelle is surrounded by multiple First Nation reserves, as well as a very large Metis population, which I am very proud to be a part of. So I understand a lot of what First Nations people endure, but I never really knew what these strong people endured in the far north of our beautiful country. This amazing movie was educational and emotional to me. I would like to thank the amazing cast & crew for sharing the story of The Grizzlies with the world.

At first I was a little "Another white guy saves the natives, fantastic" but the story was engaging and the acting was very good, and the cinematography was just great, and I soon got over my initial concerns. Having worked in the Arctic for a few years I think it was a realistic view of the land and it's people (although in the beginning I wondered if it was going to be a typical and oft-told tale of problems in the Native world from an outsiders POV) but it went past that, into the actual characters, people that I cared about. I liked the story and the ending, and the sign at the end is exactly what would happen in the native village I spent time in, and it was wonderful! (no spoilers here, just go watch the movie!) LOVED the end.

Truly left speechless after the credits rolled on screen. Had no idea this was based on a true story. Send chills down my spine. I cried, laughed, and was shocked. Astonishing performance by the actors. This film deserves so much more exposure than it has gotten. 9/10

In 2005, Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer) is a recent Canadian teaching graduate who flies to a small Inuit town in Nunavut for his first job. Trying to help the teens who have a high rate of suicide and despair, he teaches the kids lacrosse and organizes a local league.

There are moments when "The Grizzlies" feels like a formulaic sports movie though it thankfully has some unpredictable moments which fall outside that usual narrative. Also, Russ starts out as a naïve do-gooder / rescuer who is initially hard to take. But the movie wins for various reasons. The main one: it is based on a true story.

The film exposes the long-term difficulties of the community including not only the suicide rates mentioned but addiction, domestic violence, school truancy, and the legacy of the egregious residential school system. These other stories make the film gripping and moving with many emotions coming to the surface. It also provides hope in a sincere way that does not gloss over the long-term history of great struggle. As "The Grizzlies"joins the list of recent stories of First Nations histories, it is certainly more than a typical sports movie. Let's hope for more of these stories to be told. - dbamateurcritic

Definitely an important movie for Canadians to see. Really helps put the Indigenous youth crisis in perspective. I cried, but laughed even more. The young actors were absolutely authentic and did such a great job. Hats off to the makers of this film for making something so real and important.