Souvenir of Canada
Wow-wee
Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 07:00 PM
Robin Neinstein
Friday September 10th, 4:45PM
Isabel Bader Theater
It is possible that the purpose of art is to tell us who we are. As individuals, or as a nation. By this definition there can be no doubt that Souvenir of Canada is high art.
Narrated by Douglas Coupland and based on his books of the same name, Souvenir of Canada follows Coupland as he creates his instalation "Canada House", a CMHC suburban house gutted and painted completely white then filled with Canadian ephemera. The film also explores the author's relationship with his parents and siblings and their reactions to his work.
Throughout the movie, Coupland talks about our "secret handshakes", things that are subconsiously Canadian. Long underwear ads in the Sears catalog, BeeHive brand corn syrup, the Ookpik, the 1967 centinary year, beer cans and stubby bottles, bi-lingual product packaging, the trans-Canada highway, zany knock off gameshows with $10 prizes.
This is no stodgy government propaganda touting our multi-cultural integration, nor is it America-bashing defining-by-what-we-aren't. This is the real substance of our society. Every new souvenir that comes out elicits gasps of recognition and laughs from a Canadian audience. You can feel Robin Neinstein's and Coupland's joy and glee at exploring and presenting the artifacts of our culture, in one scene, Coupland visits the home of a beer can collector and upon setting eyes on the basement room filled floor to ceiling, exclaims "wow-whee!".
Coupland for Govenor General!