La conspiration du silence

The true story of a Native Canadian girl who was brutally murdered in November 1972 by four white Canadian teenagers. the four hour mini series is long enough to explain the town of The Pas' racism and reactions to the crime. One murderer even confesses to the crime. The character of Lee Colgan can become sympathetic to the audience. Since that night, he has become the second victim in a psychological sense. He himself has become unemployed, chronic alcoholic whose wife left him with their only son. In the small town, it becomes a well-known fact of Lee's repetitious confessions on his drinking binges. For fear of being killed, some girls remain silent but the town itself is fully haunted by the whole murder. They themselves become an ignorant accomplices to the crime with their silence. By protecting their own, they have cursed themselves into an real ugly image of racism. Still, the racism exists between the white Canadians and their Native Canadians. May Helen Betty Osburne rest in peace now. One painful scene in the movie is the last moment between Betty and her mother before Betty departs on a small plane to The Pas. While justice went undone for many years, it still haunts Manitoba.

Saw this while on vacation. I was amazed as well as saddened by the story.

To try to imagine such hate and disregard for this young girl, simply because of her culture, is appalling to me.

But, the fact that some people just did not give up until just was served, is gratifying.

I hope that it will, at least be re-aired, here in the states, especially here in Boston, so that many others will see it, and perhaps LEARN from Helen Betty Osborne's story.

Would LOVE to be able to locate a copy of the movie.

Anyone out there know?

Thanks!

JQ

Michael Mahonen is both sympathetic and chilling in his portrayal of 'Lee Colgan' in this acclaimed Canadian mini-series, based on a the true crime novel of the same name, by Lisa Priest. This film is thought provoking, as the crime committed was motivated by racial prejudice in a small Canadian town, The Pas, Manitoba. Mr. Mahonen won the Gemini Award for his role, and it was well deserved. I recommend watching this film, which currently enjoys re-run status, on the U.S. cable networks Lifetime Television for Women & its 'sister network' Lifetime Movie Network (aka LMN)...Mr. Mahonen is truly an actor to watch out for in the near future!

I am compelled to say that this movie is awesome. The plot makes you feel suspicious. It's kind of dark, but you'll get to see some light at the end. Michael Mahonen was just as brilliant as the movie itself. He did a very great job. I have no doubts whatsoever why he got the Gemini acting award. Yes, I have seen him in the "Road to Avonlea" series as the lovable Gus Pike. And I happened to observe a great contrast in the characters(Lee Colgan and Gus Pike) he had played. This just means he is a very versatile actor. You should see this movie yourself. It's very telling and worthwhile.

I have seen this movie many times over the years, and it is no less gut-wrenching today. Michael Mahonen won a Gemini award for his portrayal of Lee Colgan, a teenager who went out for a good time one night and ended up as an unwitting accomplice to a murder. The story is a complex tale in which the high school students who know what happened are threatened with violence if they go to the police and the older citizens don't want to see whites go prison over the death of a Cree.

The first half of the film takes place at the time of the murder, and the second half takes places roughly fifteen years later. Lee Colgan has become an alcoholic, while the other three boys who were in the car have gone on with their lives. Some of the young women who heard about the murder after the fact are still haunted by guilt at not having spoken up. There is also a sense of frustration on the part of the Mounties at knowing they're surrounded by people who know something but refuse to tell. I would like to add a personal observation here. Michael Mahonen's transformation from a carefree teenager to an alcoholic who is far older than his years was impressive to me when I first saw it. The performance became absolutely astounding to me when I learned that he made the film while he was working on the "Road to Avonlea" series. In the mornings, he was playing a teenager in the early 1900's with an Irish accent. In the afternoons, he was portraying a thirty-something alcoholic in the 1980's with a Canadian accent.