Monkey Beach

In a world of remakes and predictable storylines cheesy premises spewing out from Hollywood. This movie is pure original art from a novel that opens your mind to the things you have never known before. Take in the breathtaking scenery and the absolutely beautiful performances . Please watch if you can and enjoy.

There is no doubt for some that we (Indigenous) still have connections with our ancestors, but for others it will take a vision of sorts to make it easier to understand. I feel that this movie was created with the intention to beckon our spirits into remembering how to listen for the teachings that will help us navigate through two worlds. My hands go up in gratitude for all who made it possible - I am so proud of the good work you've done for many. Thank you Loretta Todd for generously providing my family & many dear ones the opportunity to witness this beautiful creation \('o')/

I don't get people who criticize a movie adaptation because it didn't present a literal recreation of a book they liked. Adaptations are things in themselves that evolve from the need to fit ideas, characters, commentary, internal dialogue and spoken dialogue and more into a different medium with many constraints, not the least of which may be budget.

The only movie I know that almost completely follows the book is the Maltese Falcon -- good book, good movie. One of my favourite books, Catch 22, could never become a movie that way, and yet I have enjoyed both the movie and the short TV series based on it.

The same with Monkey Beach, a book I've read and loved at least three times. But I don't know how you could ever put the literal book on screen. And so I dropped my preconceptions about what it 'should be' and simply watched the movie -- and was mesmerized.

I loved the cinematography, I loved the music and soundtrack and the non-linearity of the storytelling. I found the movie both funny and moving and was knocked out by how good the acting was. I'm not a huge fan of Adam Beach, but he was perfect for the role of Uncle Mick. Glen Gould perfectly portrayed Josh, a traumatized man lashing out at everyone around him. I loved Mama-oo, and young Lisa and can't say enough good things about how right Grace Dove was carrying Lisa's story to its bitter-sweet conclusion.

What can I say? A movie adaptation is like an impressionist painting -- it's not a photograph, it's an experience and a feeling and I'm feeling very good about Ms. Todd's impression of Monkey Beach.

I loved the novel Monkey Beach when it came out 20 years ago. It was a vibrant, gritty story about a girl named Lisa from Kitamaat Village. She grows up playing with her cousins at the marina in the summer, develops into a dope-smoking teen who hangs out with guys, and when she sees and hears things others don't, she keeps it to herself. If you grew up in Kitimat, you feel like you already know her.

This Monkey Beach is filmed in Kitimat and Kitamaat, and it features a main character named Lisa, but there's little left in it of Eden's voice. Grace Dove is radiant with serene beauty portraying a character who leapt off the page as a seething young punk with underdeveloped self esteem and a secret inner world. Adam Beach is a perfectly suited Uncle Mick, but the characters together seem locked into a script that demands they tell a story for every First Nation, using Eden's original story from the Haisla First Nation only as a template. Out-of-character dialogue like Lisa's comment to Paz outside of Rosario's, "This is too much for my heart", are so shoe-horned in you wonder why the script writers didn't start from scratch.

The highlight for me was the appearance of Snotty Nose Rez Kids at a bush party, but even the set design there was like a middle class wedding. The movie was rendered unwatchable by its own self-consciousness, in needing to make too much of the opportunity Robinson's novel presented, as if First Nations people had never represented themselves on film before and might never again. In spite of a solid cast, one-of-a-kind location, and the sparkling raw material of the original story, it never finds its stride. Whereas a classic like Smoke Signals is alive with humour, anguish, and unconcerned personal expression, Monkey Beach seems to have undergone some kind of desperate laminating process. The wrong hands got ahold of this one.

What a journey. Monkey Beach is so deep and profound. So many movies from Canada are not very cinematic. Not Monkey Beach. It is rich in story - of course, because of the book it is based on. But also because how the actors are so epic in their roles. Not to compare to other films, but so many are about despair and stereotypes. No stereotypes here. Adapting a novel is always a challenge. So much has to be left out. But here you feel like you are part of a story that builds and builds and moves like the ocean and the tides. If you loved the novel, you will love the movie. And it will appeal to so many people - young and mature, literary and someone who just wants to be entertained. The music is amazing. And the special effects. And the camera. And the directing. It was all so amazing. And village where they filmed and the land around is so beautiful.

I don't agree with the other reviewers here. Monkey Beach is magical realism. The movie doesn't deal with an urban native girl learning about her culture. She is like a superhero, like one reviewer in the media said. No melodrama here. And choppy dialogue. I read the book a few times and I think some of the dialogue is right from the book. Didn't think the book's dialogue was choppy.