Escape to Canada (2005)
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
Written & Directed by: Albert Nerenberg
Runtime: 80 min.
Trailer
Ask a person living in Canada to define what makes them Canadian and the common answer is that they’re not American. It seems to Albert Nerenberg, the filmmaker behind Escape to Canada, there are three other reasons why Canadians should revel in their new found nationalistic pride: Gay marriage, the decriminalization of marijuana, and the Government’s refusal to follow the Americans into war with Iraq. In his latest documentary, Nerenberg and his hand-held cameras follow Canada’s journey into left-wing liberalism shortly after the Supreme Court issued that same-sex marriage and smoking marijuana to be legal. According to Nerenberg, the fact that both decisions happened on the same day signalled a new dawn for Canadian society, resulting in a mass wave of Americans leaving the U.S. to settle in Canada with the hopes of absorbing the liberalism that was being stifled back home after the arrival of George W. Bush and his right-wing conservative government. Aesthetically, it’s designed through a series of man-on-the-street interviews shot with hand-held cameras, creating a humorous and, at times, frantic shoot-from-the-hip intensity that compliments the free-spirit liberalism of its subject matter. Also utilizing crosscutting techniques most often associated with narrative fiction, the film captures the political and sociological fallout from the legalization of gay marriage in Toronto to Vancouverite Marc Emery’s crusade for marijuana decriminalization. Particularly interesting is comparing Canada’s liberal marriage laws with those in the U.S and it’s in these segments that Escape to Canada is highly effective. Nerenberg accurately captures the exuberance and anticipation of partners finally getting a chance to marry, which conjures up a picture of Canada as not only a bastion of liberal ideals but as a staunch supporter of human rights. Most importantly, it shows the lack of any rational arguments against gay marriage that don’t resort to religious fundamentalism or an outdated sense of moralizing, as in the case with Stephen Harper’s speech on maintaining family values.
Where Escape to Canada suffers slightly is in its failure to provide more substantial background information about the Iraq war deserters (most of them young and wide-eyed at the prospect of coming to Canada to avoid war), presenting them instead as heroic young men who, because of their political ideals and aversion to war, deserted the army for a life in Canada. I mean, they did voluntarily sign a contact that legally bound them as soldiers, did they not? Also, there tended to be a great deal of confusion over whether or not marijuana is illegal, legal or decriminalized, especially to everyday Canadians on the street. Nerenberg does allow for that confusion to come through during several interviews but misses a great opportunity in providing a comprehensive understanding of the issue. However, what is never lost to the audience, even with all the narrative juggling, is the ongoing debate that continues to go on in this country - providing a beacon of hope to all liberal minded Canadians and foreigners alike, and just possibly earning the title of the new land of the free.
Richard X
© Cinephile Magazine, 2006
