My Internship in Canada

"We always want what is good for us," said Rousseau, "but we do not always see what it is." Often it takes the perspective of an outsider for us to see. Steve Guibord is a Member of Parliament from a remote part of Quebec who is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. When it becomes clear that he has the deciding vote in an important issue before Parliament, whether or not Canada will go to war, he is strongly courted by both liberals and conservatives. Steve is hopelessly undecided about how to vote and to make matters worse, his district and household are equally split. Steve's wife and daughter disagree on how he should vote, and his district includes right leaning miners as well as left leaning First Nations and peace protesters. All want their way with Steve, and who does he have to turn to but Souverain, the young Haitian intern he hired five days earlier and only because he was free.

When Steve is responding on camera to the media, Souverain is feeding him quotes from Alexis de Tocqueville, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Montesquieu. Souverain is chided for this. "You've been with me five days," says Steve "there's lots you don't know, and this is REAL LIFE we're dealing with here." Yet there is lots Steve doesn't know about his own system, district, family, friends and himself, and his life may not be as "real" as he thought it was. As Souverain and Rousseau would have it, Steve goes on a "window to democracy" tour to hear what voters have to say about the issue.

The film is a brilliant satire about democracy and how far we drift from the principles we espouse. I enjoyed the film immensely, in part because I love the subject matter. With degrees in law and political science, and experience interning with lobbyists in Congress, I recognize the truths here. Not only is it a witty satire about modern politics, it is also funny and it offers unique perspectives about different cultures, finding balance in the decisions we make and thinking outside the box, among other things. The only drawback is how it is "rough around the edges" and would likely benefit from further monetary support, care and time. Towards the end of the film Steve is asked what he learned. I realized "I know nothing," he says "and that I have a friend." He begins to appreciate what is beautiful around him and that you don't drown just because you fall in the sea. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015. From the director of the wonderful Monsieur Lazhar.

I saw "Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre" on August 10th at the Locarno Film Festival. Part of the cast, including director Philippe Falardeau, introduced the world premiere of the movie and joked with the audience (almost 5'000 people fitting the stunning setting of Piazza Grande: the outdoor cinema of the festival). I must say that the acting was very good, with solid performances by Patrick Huard, Suzanne Clément and Irdens Exantus. Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre played like a political comedy, sometimes quite funny, but overall boring. I fell asleep a couple of times during the screening (not an easy task, when you are sitting in front of a giant screen of 85x45 feet, filled with loud surround sound.

Funny, witty, full of stereotypes, great watch for a lazy day. I am from Quebec so the scenery and distance as well as the small town vibes and relationships between first nations and locals were well depicted in satire. None of the movie should be taken seriously or offensively, it's just a demonstration of the absurdity of politics in Canada. I would be glad to watch a sequel, I am not aware if there is one. I will be recommending this movie to my local friends. It is called My Internship in Canada on Prime TV so if you're looking for it type that into the search engine. Don't expect a masterpiece and you won't be dissapointed but pleasantly surprised!

An unfortunate fact about this film is that its nuance would be lost in English translation, and most won't watch it with subtitles.

The acting was fabulous, although the Haitian was a stereotype.

Content: Not spoon-fed but clear enough. This was insightful both on a political and philosophical level.

Humor: It's difficult to determine whether this would be funny to someone not well-versed in Quebec culture. But to someone who is, the humor was present throughout, even the most 'serious' parts. Nicely done. There is an abundance of accessible, blue collar humor.

Editing: No obvious issues.

Pace: Fast and fluent.

Story: One turn of events could have been better explained (as pertains to the main character's wife).

Female characters: One gets the feeling that the daughter's role was written by a woman and the wife's by a man. The former was much more defined.

Overall, everyone involved in this film should be proud. The Harper parody was hilarious!

A good hearted but insignificant member of parliament finds himself becoming a key political pawn in Canada's politics, along with his long time wife and sweetheart, his rebellious daughter and an Haitian born unexperienced staffer, he'll have to navigate strange odds of big city politics while dealing with his small town constituency.... and it is a delight from beginning to end.

Leave it to Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar, Congorama, the good lie...) to write and direct a movie, able to tackle.sensitive subjects, without caricaturing anyone beyond a well targeted satire, and that gets you to laugh at, while empathizing with, its characters.

This is funny, this is sweet, and still this is courageous. A must see. Short of 10 stars only because it leaves you hungry for more with an open ending.