La conspiration du silence

Miniseries about the killing of an innocent Indian girl and the entire town that failed to bring the guilty to justice. Set in The Pas, Manitoba, about as far north as civilization goes. The girl leaves home to get an education, but on one night she gets picked up by a carload of rowdy white boys and gets killed and dumped out. Originally shown on the CBC in Canada. It has been shown on Lifetime in the U.S.A. Vintage cars and songs are featured in this. Hypnosis is used to make a cab driver recall a license plate number. Canadian Indians are typically called "wagon burners." Excellent study of crime and white narcissism. You feel sad for the Indian mother who lost her daughter.

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.

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 really liked this film because it focused on the wrongful injustices that have been committed against North America's First Nations people. Helen Betty Osbourne along with Donald Marshall and JJ Harper are 3 examples of what they went through at the hands of Canada's so-called "justice system". "Conspiracy of Silence" was well made because it accurately depicted what went on from that incident late that night in 1971 to the actual convictions that were FINALLY made in 1986 when all 4 men involved in the murder were brought to trial. In the end, only 1 man (the guy who committed the actual murder) went to prison while the other 3 went free. Now although justice finally seemed to be served, it literally took 15 YEARS for the 4 men to be brought to trial!! That's what's so appalling about the whole situation! Helen Betty Osbourne had something in common with Donald Marshall and JJ Harper. All 3 victims were Native (Donald Marshall is the only one still alive). Helen was a Cree First Nations woman who was never viewed as a human being by the Canadian laws and governments. To them, she was only "an Indian" and because of that, it took a whopping 15 years for the offenders to brought to justice! Of course the 4 men who committed the crime were white so it didn't matter to the "justice system" that they killed an innocent person (especially if the dead person was Native). If I were the judge and jury of that case, ALL 4 men involved would have had a lengthy jail term because the law IS the law and it applies to EVERYONE in this country who commits a serious crime like that. There's no room for racism and its bogus policies in this so- called "justice system" of ours.

Well............ anyways........... this is why I gave this film an 8 out of 10.

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!