Trans-Canada Summer

Trans Canada Summer is a late 1950's documentary that is ostensibly about the creation of the first coast to coast highway in Canada. The subject is just a pretext however, since while the movie does "travel" across the country from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, the film makers often leave the highway altogether to visit cities and sites they want to include. The result is a portrait of Canada at a particular moment in all of its variety. The movie reminded me of the many 16 mm films I had to endure as a grade school student when one of my teachers was too hungover to deal with my class. It is an example of the type of documentary that was mass produced back in the middle of last century: educational without being particularly profound. It is worth watching for a look at what real life in Canada was like back then, but other than that, it is not particularly compelling.