Trudeau

Very good movie done in a very interesting concept. It's a visual treat. The way the director uses the camera, the split-screen, files from the archives, is just great. The acting too is good. Colm Feore is absolutely fantastic in the lead role. Man, he's got it! I think Polly Shannon also gave a good performance as Margaret. The rest of the cast to their job very well.

When watching "Trudeau", try to not think of it as a documentary. Because this is not one. It's a fiction, based on real facts, with add-on material.

I think it's a first for Canadian cinema. "Trudeau" is a movie that really surprised me.

But I must admit that I prefer the first part of the movie. The second one was a little bit too much on the political side of his life.

Out of 100, I gave "Trudeau" 82. That's good for *** on a **** stars rating system.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on March 31st and April 1st, 2002.

It is hard to find fault with this terrific effort...great script, great actors etc...but why do they screw up such a super show with dumb things. Although I am complaining about only a couple of parts of the show, I do not know why these things took place. For example, at the end of episode one, after a great re-telling of the P.Laporte-J. Cross FLQ crisis, they resolve it with a multi-screen ending, that had no narrative, and made absolutely no sense at all to those who do not know how it ended. It was as if the director and editor suddenly realized that they only had 60 seconds left to wrap it up and tried to do everything at once. If you were new to the story and did not know how the events unfolded then you would have been lost. Likewise at the end of the second episode, so 'genius' decided to use an actual speech by the real Trudeau, but made it into a grainy scratch filled piece of black and white film as if it had been film in the time of Laurier not Trudeau. What exactly was the point of that. The only other complaint I had was a scene in which Trudeau and his reporter 'friend' were coming up the steps into the Centre Block and unlike every other shot in the series, someone decided to jump cut it as if it were a rock video. Again, what was the point of interupting the flow of the show to do that (unless it was to cut out the person walking in front of them). However, on the whole, the show was great, the portrail of historical figures fascinating. John Turner, Mitchell Sharp and even John Munro came across very well as did Pelletier, Marchand and Lalonde to mention just a few. But then why did they not use an actor to portray Joe Clark, using newsreel footage for his parts and not anyone else, including Levesque. These examples of disjointedness were irritating as they all interuppted the narrative flow of a great show.

I'm a conservative; and even those who are die-hard conservatives, or hated Trudeau, will really enjoy this flick. I bought it after watching it and renting it about a dozen times.

The historical accuracy was great - which is very funny for a historical movie (because not a lot of these kinds of movies are historically accurate). Its hard for me to determine what my favorite scene was because they were all great. Even the opening of the movie with the old CBC colour butterfly was great, and set up the atmosphere for the film. It gives everyone a chance to see how popular politicians got started, and made their mark, and how others were hated and why they were hated. It was definitely not biased whatsoever.

This movie has made it in my top three most favorite movies.

While my mother would tell me stories of what happened when I was younger, the four-hour miniseries, "Trudeau," was like a knowledgeable neighbour filling in the external details about the politics and events of the time.

Through the music of the time, interspersed with clips from actual news footage, and the actors' performances, we were brought through such groundbreaking events as the October Crisis, the Québec Referendum and the bringing home of the Constitution to Canada.

The role that Margaret Sinclair Trudeau played in the life of Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his political life is given its due importance in this production. Margaret was played as a strong support to Pierre, in spite of their marriage breakdown and Margaret's escapades with drugs and hanging out with the Rolling Stones.

While it was only touched on during the broadcast, Trudeau's legacy is the maturing of a Canada that welcomes languages and cultures from around the world. Additionally, Trudeau's statement that the government "has no business in the bedrooms of the nation" made it easier for divorcing couples and those with so-called "alternative lifestyles" to have the opportunity to participate more fully in Canadian society.

This piece was casted, not with look-alikes, but with actors who could convey the essence of the players of a generation ago. Anyone with knowledge of the era could easily recognise the premiers, aides and other characters played by a group of very familiar actors, whose performances were nothing less than stellar. Kudos to Colm Feore (Pierre) and Polly Shannon (Margaret)!!!

This production was broadcast with closed captions and descriptive video making it a trendsetter in accessible TV for the hearing and visually impaired.

Some might argue the most memorable line from Trudeau was, "Just watch me!" However, after seeing this miniseries, I think it should be, "This is us! Here we are!"

And we are, indeed!

It's typical that the Canadian press (including 'The Toronto Star' and 'The Globe and Mail') would overhype a docudrama like this one. For one thing, it's about the beloved Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who, despite his flaws, seemed to capture the hearts of many a Canadian in a manner usually reserved for members of the Royal family, and maybe the Kennedys.

The more disturbing trend illustrated by the press of late is the tendency to write blindly self-congratulatory articles on Canadian content. As if the CRTC didn't limit our content choices enough as it is. Just look at all the glowing press that the Simpsons' "Toronto episode" unfairly garnered.

But back to the matter at hand. "Trudeau": the much hyped, much touted biopic miniseries starring a bevy of Canadian regulars, such as Colm Feore, R.H. Thompson, Patrick McKenna and, surprise, surprise, Don McKellar. Oh, and it stars Polly Walker as Margaret. Now, who is Polly Walker, and what's the big deal here?

Jerry Ciccoretti's direction is admirable at times, working with what must have been a limited budget. Instant giveaway: excess of stock footage from the CBC archives. At other times, however, Ciccoretti gives into cheap mimicry of better filmmakers (yes, Jerry, we get the Richard Lester references). This also involves a mind-boggling over-use of cheap video effects, including split screen, freeze frame, and "wacky font library" titling. All this >reminds me of that video project I got an A on in High School (I think it was about the school's lacrosse team).

Back to the acting. Colm (pronounced "Caw-lum," as Cynthia Dale so eloquently introduced him at the end of the first episode) Feore is passable in the title role. I've never been a huge fan of his overly affected Stratford festival style of acting. But he generally pulls it off. Still, it raises the debate of acting vs. mimicry. Where's the passion, Colm?

Polly Walker is gawdawful as Margaret, although one wonders as to how much she was given to work with, considering the muddled direction and the real-life woman she's modelled after.

The supporting actors generally do better, culminating tour-de-force performances by Eric Peterson as Tommy Douglas and Luc Proulx as Rene Levesque.

In the end, I'm sure that "Trudeau" will pull in record ratings for the ailing CBC. But it's still sub-standard entertainment. We need new directors, and new fresh talent to grace our TV screens if we want TV to survive in this country. Otherwise, we can tune in to better fare from the UK or, dare I say it, the US.

And the press better learn how to criticize, because this is imperative if our country wants to grow in the arts.