Shots ring out one winter night, and a bullet meant for a local dealer kills a child. In the aftermath of shock, Gene, a 40 something social worker starts a Black men's support group, at the... Read allShots ring out one winter night, and a bullet meant for a local dealer kills a child. In the aftermath of shock, Gene, a 40 something social worker starts a Black men's support group, at the local Caribbean Takeaway Restaurant.Shots ring out one winter night, and a bullet meant for a local dealer kills a child. In the aftermath of shock, Gene, a 40 something social worker starts a Black men's support group, at the local Caribbean Takeaway Restaurant.
- Awards
- 3 wins total
Featured reviews
Canadians are thirsty for stories that reflect and motivate us. Director Frances-Anne Solomon's recent offering A Winter Tale is just that kind of story... and more. Solomon and her cast deliver extraordinarily credible, emotionally raw and sincere performances that depict the vulnerability, self-preservation, and salvation of Toronto residents in the wake of gun violence.
Set in Toronto's Parkdale community, the story opens with a social worker named Gene (played by Peter Williams) and his attempts to "get the black men in his community to talk", after an innocent 12-year old takes a fatal bullet meant for a drug dealer. The backdrop for much of the film is at the Caribbean Takeaway Restaurant run by Miss G (played by Leonie Forbes) where the men hang out drinking beers, speaking patois and playing cards and pool.
The cast of A Winter Tale was "encouraged to bring a little piece of themselves" to every scene. This included their varied Caribbean and African backgrounds. Using an often overlooked technique, Solomon and her cousin, Michele Lonsdale-Smith (who directed the theater version of the movie) held improvisation workshops, where the actors could channel their characters freely. As a result, much of the cast is credited with helping to write the script. The cast also lived in Parkdale during the filming.
On screen the group dynamics are riveting. The film is never stereotypical and never preachy. More importantly it's gripping and real, at times even nostalgic. We know these characters, not just on screen, but in our daily lives too.
Each scene is ultimately a window into the tragedies, joys, and struggle with the negative elements in our society. The climax and resolution of the film leave you spent, unsure of what to feel next other than anxious, a little "mad", and exposed at the same time. Of the film, Solomon said she wanted to "pack an emotional punch". It does - violence is not a spectator sport, and nowhere in this film could you simply watch, - you felt the call to action and even discussion. No doubt before long, this film will be screening in theaters across Canada.
Otherwise, you're missing out on one of the best truly Canadian films this year.
Set in Toronto's Parkdale community, the story opens with a social worker named Gene (played by Peter Williams) and his attempts to "get the black men in his community to talk", after an innocent 12-year old takes a fatal bullet meant for a drug dealer. The backdrop for much of the film is at the Caribbean Takeaway Restaurant run by Miss G (played by Leonie Forbes) where the men hang out drinking beers, speaking patois and playing cards and pool.
The cast of A Winter Tale was "encouraged to bring a little piece of themselves" to every scene. This included their varied Caribbean and African backgrounds. Using an often overlooked technique, Solomon and her cousin, Michele Lonsdale-Smith (who directed the theater version of the movie) held improvisation workshops, where the actors could channel their characters freely. As a result, much of the cast is credited with helping to write the script. The cast also lived in Parkdale during the filming.
On screen the group dynamics are riveting. The film is never stereotypical and never preachy. More importantly it's gripping and real, at times even nostalgic. We know these characters, not just on screen, but in our daily lives too.
Each scene is ultimately a window into the tragedies, joys, and struggle with the negative elements in our society. The climax and resolution of the film leave you spent, unsure of what to feel next other than anxious, a little "mad", and exposed at the same time. Of the film, Solomon said she wanted to "pack an emotional punch". It does - violence is not a spectator sport, and nowhere in this film could you simply watch, - you felt the call to action and even discussion. No doubt before long, this film will be screening in theaters across Canada.
Otherwise, you're missing out on one of the best truly Canadian films this year.
'A Winter Tale' reminded me of a snow globe. Not only because it happens in winter (hence snow) and not only because the world of this small black Toronto community gets shaken (as snow globes do) by the accidental shooting death of a young child ... but also because of the closeness and intimacy of everything. The feeling was of being invited into a small space (like a snow globe) to meet these characters, experienced with an emotional and visual closeness (e.g. many close up shots of their eyes, faces, mouths) which pressed them and their lives against me as a viewer. How could we all fit into this small globe without becoming more intimately involved (visually and emotionally) or without feeling some kind of intensity?
Gene, one of the main characters (a social worker), forms a male support group, which addresses the need for 'dialogue' among the men of the community. In contrast, there are points in the film where there is no dialogue ... where what is not said speaks as loudly as (louder than?) what is or could be. This absence (of dialogue) stood out for me for two scenes in particular: (i) after the shooting of the boy, one of the men returns to the eatery to tell the grandfather that his grandson is dead. This is done so wordlessly and powerfully that in the moment I was aware of the power of silence (absence of words). Anything voiced at that point would have ruined it. (ii) Gene (social worker) crying in bed after the shooting of the boy, his wife's long, white arm reaching out to touch his turned back. He eventually turns to her, still crying, and there is an overhead shot of their naked interracial bodies intertwined. Sensual. Maternal. Come to think of it, the men in the film often come across as boys, particularly when in the presence of the women in their lives (whether wife, girlfriend or mother). They seemed to be reflections of that little boy who got shot: just as vulnerable - both emotionally and in the sense of being potential victims of gun violence themselves.
I enjoyed the film's textures, camera work and editing. At times I found myself thinking that I could have been looking at a painting - particularly in the scenes that showed the city of Toronto. I saw it in a blurred, abstract, almost surreal way - in contrast with the realness of the life of the main characters. The close up red of a street car passing was like a paintbrush with red paint on it, streaking across the screen. The silhouetted CN tower against a golden watercolour blur of sky. A quick, haunting glimpse of a black brush-stroked female figure standing alone on a snowy sidewalk. Blurry memories of childhood. At points the editing, angles and distance of the shots worked together to make me feel as though I was seeing this urban painting through the window of a passing train: quick snippets. Not much of the city had to be shown to depict it. Like a few simple Japanese brush strokes creating the whole picture.
The soundtrack was there throughout, supporting and driving, but never standing above. The only point where I consciously became aware of it and found myself listening to what the music was 'made up' of was a looped instrumental part just before the little boy gets shot. I remember listening to it and being aware of the silence and spacing between the notes enhancing the tension of 'something about to happen'.
Gene, one of the main characters (a social worker), forms a male support group, which addresses the need for 'dialogue' among the men of the community. In contrast, there are points in the film where there is no dialogue ... where what is not said speaks as loudly as (louder than?) what is or could be. This absence (of dialogue) stood out for me for two scenes in particular: (i) after the shooting of the boy, one of the men returns to the eatery to tell the grandfather that his grandson is dead. This is done so wordlessly and powerfully that in the moment I was aware of the power of silence (absence of words). Anything voiced at that point would have ruined it. (ii) Gene (social worker) crying in bed after the shooting of the boy, his wife's long, white arm reaching out to touch his turned back. He eventually turns to her, still crying, and there is an overhead shot of their naked interracial bodies intertwined. Sensual. Maternal. Come to think of it, the men in the film often come across as boys, particularly when in the presence of the women in their lives (whether wife, girlfriend or mother). They seemed to be reflections of that little boy who got shot: just as vulnerable - both emotionally and in the sense of being potential victims of gun violence themselves.
I enjoyed the film's textures, camera work and editing. At times I found myself thinking that I could have been looking at a painting - particularly in the scenes that showed the city of Toronto. I saw it in a blurred, abstract, almost surreal way - in contrast with the realness of the life of the main characters. The close up red of a street car passing was like a paintbrush with red paint on it, streaking across the screen. The silhouetted CN tower against a golden watercolour blur of sky. A quick, haunting glimpse of a black brush-stroked female figure standing alone on a snowy sidewalk. Blurry memories of childhood. At points the editing, angles and distance of the shots worked together to make me feel as though I was seeing this urban painting through the window of a passing train: quick snippets. Not much of the city had to be shown to depict it. Like a few simple Japanese brush strokes creating the whole picture.
The soundtrack was there throughout, supporting and driving, but never standing above. The only point where I consciously became aware of it and found myself listening to what the music was 'made up' of was a looped instrumental part just before the little boy gets shot. I remember listening to it and being aware of the silence and spacing between the notes enhancing the tension of 'something about to happen'.
I have to say, I loved this movie (thank you Peter for bringing it with you) The story was very moving (well done Frances Anne) with a few fun moments and tragedy. However, the underlying story is very fresh today, whether in Canada, USA, UK, and all over the world. Its an issue that really needs to be noted, and for people to start realising. We are a multicultural society now, we have to learn to live and respect one another. This movie would be very good shown in schools, to show kids the gritty side of life, not the glamorised side like a Hollywood movie.
I have to say, after watching A Winter Tale, I'm considering a career change. I'm seriously considering re-training and doing something more meaningful with my life, to help kids/youths/supporting adults. I've been thinking about it for a while, and with seeing A Winter Tale, I'm very seriously contemplating this move. Sorry, back to the movie: Would I watch the movie again? Yes Would I buy the movie? Yes! Well done everyone on the movie!!
I have to say, after watching A Winter Tale, I'm considering a career change. I'm seriously considering re-training and doing something more meaningful with my life, to help kids/youths/supporting adults. I've been thinking about it for a while, and with seeing A Winter Tale, I'm very seriously contemplating this move. Sorry, back to the movie: Would I watch the movie again? Yes Would I buy the movie? Yes! Well done everyone on the movie!!
The Reel World Film Festival in April opened with a gala performance of the made in Canada film A Winter Tale. It won the award for best Canadian feature at the festival which included films from a number of countries.
It's the work of British-born, Trinidad raised Frances-Anne Solomon whose experience embraces award winning feature films and television productions for the BBC.
Leonie Forbes, Jamaica's "first lady of film" won the festival's award of excellence for her telling performance as Miss G, the proprietor of a small restaurant in Toronto's Parkdale district, where the entire tale is set during bleak winter time.
After a ten-year-old boy is shot by a stray bullet a social worker tries to form a black men's support group seeking a witness to the crime. But it's an uphill struggle against fear of retribution from neighborhood, drug dealing gangs is portrayed. A Winter Tale offers a searching perspective on the timely issues of gun violence, set against the backdrop of a Caribbean community's hopes and tribulations. The film, although fictional is directed and filmed with a documentary-like sense of realism. It reminds one how shallow are the "reality" TV shows when art can imitate life in such a telling fashion.
At present, I can't tell you where this moving film might be shown theatrically, but please watch out for A Winter Tale.
It's the work of British-born, Trinidad raised Frances-Anne Solomon whose experience embraces award winning feature films and television productions for the BBC.
Leonie Forbes, Jamaica's "first lady of film" won the festival's award of excellence for her telling performance as Miss G, the proprietor of a small restaurant in Toronto's Parkdale district, where the entire tale is set during bleak winter time.
After a ten-year-old boy is shot by a stray bullet a social worker tries to form a black men's support group seeking a witness to the crime. But it's an uphill struggle against fear of retribution from neighborhood, drug dealing gangs is portrayed. A Winter Tale offers a searching perspective on the timely issues of gun violence, set against the backdrop of a Caribbean community's hopes and tribulations. The film, although fictional is directed and filmed with a documentary-like sense of realism. It reminds one how shallow are the "reality" TV shows when art can imitate life in such a telling fashion.
At present, I can't tell you where this moving film might be shown theatrically, but please watch out for A Winter Tale.
A Winter Tale is a beautifully shot feature that highlights men's communication skills regarding gun violence.
Shot on location in Toronto's inner city neighbourhood of Parkdale, this crucially relevant film is all too timely.
We feel the characters viscerally, as if the film were a documentary, but its narrative flow and close camera work draws the audience in to experience the action as if we were part of the circle, face to face with real people with whom we can identify.
Scene by scene, Parkdale comes to life in full spectrum; character is revealed through a grim, suspenseful inevitability.
A Winter Tale does not provide answers to Toronto's gun violence per se, but it does expose the difficulties and the necessity in ensuring that a dialogue about these issues gets started. Now.
Penn Kemp, pennkemp.ca
Shot on location in Toronto's inner city neighbourhood of Parkdale, this crucially relevant film is all too timely.
We feel the characters viscerally, as if the film were a documentary, but its narrative flow and close camera work draws the audience in to experience the action as if we were part of the circle, face to face with real people with whom we can identify.
Scene by scene, Parkdale comes to life in full spectrum; character is revealed through a grim, suspenseful inevitability.
A Winter Tale does not provide answers to Toronto's gun violence per se, but it does expose the difficulties and the necessity in ensuring that a dialogue about these issues gets started. Now.
Penn Kemp, pennkemp.ca
Details
Box office
- Budget
- CA$750,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content