PARIS 1919 (Paul Cowan, Canada/France). 9o minutes. Some subtitles. Friday (May 1), 7 pm May 10, 11 am, Isabel Bader. Rating: NN
Margaret MacMillan’s book chronicled the formation of the League of Nations after the end of World War I. Paul Cowan’s film adaptation attempts to bring that book to life by literally bringing it to life, using historical re-enactments (and the odd archival clip) to re-create the Paris Peace Conference where the world’s leaders hashed out the Treaty of Versailles.
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But rather than actually exploring the conference’s historical impact, Cowan turns it into mere pantomime, a feature-length version of those clunky old Heritage Moment spots. You wouldn’t give it a moment’s thought if you flipped past it on the CBC one night, so why spend money to sit through it at a film festival?
