Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Let's all play the "Hey I know that place game"

As you all well know, One Stop Wonder Shop is meant to highlight and focus Canadian, specifically Toronto culture. Some people ask me "why?". And the simple answer is, that I love this city and all it has to offer and I want everyone to fall in love with it just as much as I have in the past four years I have lived here. The eclectic blend of rich cultures, neighbourhoods, scenes, and lifestyles. In one bike ride to work I get to drive through Little Portugal, Queen West, Dovercourt Park, Liberty Village, and the Fashion District. The ability to see all these neighbourhoods really allows one to appreciate the beauty that is Toronto.

So now, I introduce you to Toronto Stories. A film that captures the exact qualities of Toronto that I love. The diverse communities, the every day people that make this city so wonderful, and the beautiful landscapes, architecture, and parks of our city. All of these are showcased in Toronto Stories.

It is hard to understand whether or not the film makers were trying to actually make a film or to say "Hey film industry, look at what we got! You should come here!" But either way I enjoyed seeing the familiar places I see in my everyday life. That one convenience store, the building where I work, the CN tower, or that park I woke up on a bench in.

Toronto Stories is a collection of four stories that are all connected with the interaction of an immagrant boy who has illegally entered into Canada. We are never told why, nor does the boy ever speak, so it often feels like he is used solely as a device to connect the stories. That perhaps is probably the only negative thing I have to say about the film. We then are taken on a imaginative journey with two young Leslieville children, we experience the ever-frustrating dating scene of the West-End 20-somethings, the struggles of an ex-con and an escaped convict in St.Clair West and Vaughn, and lastly we follow the difficult story of the beloved Henry the Hobo who plays chess in Union Station.

The film features the talents of Gil Bellows, Sook-Yin Lee, and Shauna MacDonald. The four stories are directed bySook-Yin Lee, David Sutherland, David Weaver, and Aaron Woodley. The soundtrack is also home-grown featuring the musical stylings Final Fantasy, Broken Social Scene, Jason Collett, Glissandro 70, and Ohbijou.

Ok so this post is long enough, just watch the trailer and get inspired.

3 comments:

  1. you totally sold that film!! but can you sell freedom.....???

    ReplyDelete
  2. ha ha anonymous, you know who it is!

    ReplyDelete
  3. you woke up on a park bench once? woah.

    nice find though..

    ReplyDelete