Boys and Girls

I have looked for the title of this film off and on ever since I've been on the internet, 1995. I saw it on PBS. It made such an impression that when they aired it a second time (things were repeated often back then) I sat on the floor to be sure and catch the name of the excellent girl actress. I agree with the other reviewers that too few people know about this gem of a film. Now that I am armed with more information, perhaps I can find a video of it.

It is the type of film that every female, regardless of age, can related to. The adoration of the father, and yet being treated as second best by him. The well meaning but over burdened mother, we've all experienced variants of this. I've later enjoyed Ms Follows in other work, notably Anne of Green Gables, but this is the film that I will remember her for the most.

I remember seeing this in a High School English class and being very impressed with it at the time, especially with Megan Follows (this was before Anne of Green Gables), but the story is also very good and the rest of the cast are quite good.

In addition to Follows the cast also included David Fox and Clare Coulter (both with extensive Canadian resume's and Genie nominations) and Wayne Robson a character actor who has appeared in both major Hollywood productions and any number of Canadian productions including the "The Red Green Show". The film is based on a short story by the award winning Canadian author Alice Munro.

It's sad to see that despite the fact this film won an Oscar (1984 Best Short Film, Live Action), and that it has a great message especially for young people, and that it was so well made it still has very few votes (at the time of my last revision only 50). I suppose that comes from it being a short film - which in this day and age is not really a medium with great commercial prospects, its unfortunate there are not more outlets for such films.

"Margaret" (Megan Follows) is a young girl living with her younger brother "Laird" (Ian Heath) on the farm of her dad (David Fox) and mum (Clare Coulter) but she's pretty unfulfilled. She yearns to take some responsibility around the place but her father only has eyes for her brother and seems content to leave her to more mundane and domestic matters. Indeed, when she takes pity on one of their horses and lets it loose, much to the chagrin of her parents, their only word of reprimand when she is grassed on by her brother is "she's only a girl". It's a curious drama this, not least because the message it clearly sends about the roles assigned to each gender flies in the face of the practicalities of running a small, rural, enterprise where everyone has to muck in and do their bit. It highlights the sheer stupidity of relegating her to a supporting role around the place when she clearly has the wherewithal to contribute more fully and usefully. A sort of cutting of your nose to spite your lace! The acting, writing and photography are all adequate enough but it's really the thrust of the story that makes this worth twenty minutes.

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB)frequently wins international awards because it's main focus is on short features(30 minutes or less). This is one way to explain why this short film based on the short story by Alice Munro, is of such high quality. The cast includes Megan Follows from ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, Wayne Robson from THE RED GREEN SHOW and David Fox from "everything else". Follows is the star here in a film that neatly rolls up all the sex roles assigned to boys and girls in the last century and maybe since Adam and Eve. The symbolism from Munro's story is intact in this film yet the epiphany of her unnamed protagonist(called Margaret on the video)is completely reversed in the film version. A must for anyone studying Canadian literature and a recommended piece for anyone interested in gender roles in Western society.

The Academy Award-winning "Boys and Girls" looks at gender roles, in this case on a farm. It's only about twenty-two minutes, but it manages to crisply lay out the expectations that society places on the genders. In this case, the daughter is adept at all sorts of things, but everyone views her as "just a girl". Without a doubt the roles assigned to the genders from an early age tend to stifle people's creativity; just look at how the mom has to spend all day in the kitchen, as sexually repressed as ever. This is what the patriarchy does to people.

Having watched this, I'd like to read Alice Munro's works. In the meantime, I recommend the short. It's long past time that we let children be who they want to be.