L'apprentissage de Duddy Kravitz

A Canadian film that isn't a joke. Wow. 'The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz' is a wonderful thing. Let's start with the novel. I read it as part of an English Lit class in High School and read it every autumn for seven years. It just goes so well with those first few blustery nights that arrive mid-October. Always tough for a screenplay to match up with a novel but novelist Mordecai Richler and Lionel Chetwynd were nominated for Academy Awards and lost to 'The Godfather Part 2's Coppola and Puzo - not bad. Wonderful to watch - just look at all the great street scenes, the country scenes, the autumn leaves, Duddy's well-lit apartment, Moe's Cigar Store...I mean, this is Canada keeping warm and cozy on a cool, October evening. The film, and the novel, are great to curl up with.

I always wanted to see this film ever since it was released when I was in college, but just never got around to it. Just watched it now in 2018 and not disappointed. Dreyfuss really was the perfect Duddy Kravitz. Many of his subsequent roles had a "little bit of Duddy" in them. The viewer can both cheer for Duddy and also be repulsed by him, the mark of a good screenplay, script and actors. Warden, Wiseman and Lanctot lend realism to the tale and provide the other prisms through which to view Kravitz. Both a story and a character study it can be tough to watch, even if occasionally softened by touches of humor. By the end we're left to wonder if it was all worth it and we sense that Duddy is wondering the same thing.

"A little bit of Duddy Kravitz in everyone," so the poster tells us. Yeah, I guess you could say that, although it is exaggerated in the film to get the message across (either that, or I haven't met anyone like that yet.) Dreyfuss' character is believable, and so is his father. I would have to say the only wooden character in the whole film is that of Lenny, Duddy's brother. There is a good message to get from the film--if you watch it, you won't be disappointed.

The reputation of this movie speaks for itself, and there are some very noteworthy names in the cast. I certainly anticipated that it would be enjoyable, but I wasn't sure what to expect - and I'm very impressed. So impressed that I can only wonder how it is that I hadn't heard of 'The apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz' until now, through a chance recommendation. Where we're treated to humor, it's biting, and in the more seriously dramatic moments, the story is piercing, and only increasingly so. Yet it seems to me like the film doesn't have to work very hard to manifest either; as cutting as it may be at any point, the levity and the sobriety are borne naturally of the storytelling. And while that story carries familiar elements, the assemblage comes across as anything but ordinary. Very honestly, this deserves much more recognition.

We've seen this idea play out before: an enterprising young person latches onto a big idea that will make them Somebody, and the path to that goal is riddled with hurdles. Yet it's the extremes that the titular figure is willing to go to in that pursuit that do much to elevate 'The apprenticeship' and help it to stand apart; therein lies the stark potency as a few turns in the plot are surprisingly dark. Moreover, Duddy Kravitz is quite the character, bursting with nervous and excitable energy, and fierce, opportunistic determination, and he makes for quite the protagonist. To that point, it's a delight to see that role filled by Richard Dreyfuss; these days one is hardly accustomed to seeing the veteran in a part of so much lively zest, and he was so very young here. Dreyfuss has always been a great actor, though, and he proves it here with a vibrant electricity that as a viewer is a real joy to watch.

This is to say nothing of his co-stars, including venerable Denholm Elliott, and Randy Quaid in a role that is likewise a far cry from what we assume of him. Canadian actress Micheline Lanctôt is less immediately recognizable, but she ably makes her mark here with a fine show as supporting character Yvette. The whole cast is swell, and the parts they play lend tremendously to the zip of the tale being spun. That includes no small measure of racism that figures into the snappy dialogue, yet the inclusion here is not one of vilifying bigotry as is most often true in fiction. Rather, the racist overtones are part of the lived experiences of the characters, and something they readily acknowledge and play up with mirthful jest. It's an angle that like so much here is unexpected, but the underlying intelligence is gratifying. And for that, of course, we can thank Mordecai Richler, adapting his own novel to the screen. There's underhanded complexity and wit behind every aspect of the writing, such that nothing in 'The apprenticeship' feels like it's being thrust in our face. Instead, every slight idea, tone, and detail slowly bubbles to the surface on its own time, and as it does, we realize it was there all along, helping to fuel the fire. Richler's writing is impressively dexterous, and I'd love to discover more of his work.

By design, this isn't necessarily a picture that's immediately grabbing, and anyone hoping for a more plainly impactful viewing experience may be put out. By and large, however, this is a steady, compelling feature that keeps us well engaged, and ultimately is very satisfying. Well made in all regards, the worst criticism to come to mind at the moment is that in some ways - sequencing, editing generally, the pace of plot development - the title feels a tad too brusque, as though spurred into a forced march. This is a minor gripe, though, particularly in light of the keen writing and excellent performances. 'The apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz' is more forgotten than not in the annals of cinema history (at least outside Canada), but there's superb value here that demands rediscovery: if you have the chance to watch this, it's very much worth two hours of one's time.

The younger son of a working-class Jewish family in Montreal, Duddy Kravitz (Richard Dreyfuss) yearns to make a name for himself in society..

We start with the idea: "A man without land is nobody." From there, we get to a surreal Bar Mitzvah film, a pinball business, assorted other ventures and possible scams... all so Duddy can buy up some farmland, which he does under another name because he thinks farmers will not sell to Jewish people (although this is not clearly explained).

"Duddy Kravitz" has an important place in Canadian film history because it was the most commercially successful Canadian film ever made at the time of its release, and has thus been described as a 'coming of age' for Canadian cinema. One wonders how things have changed, because it seems that today (2017) Vancouver is one of the most-filmed cities in the world.