MY INTERNSHIP IN CANADA (Philippe Falardeau). 108 minutes. Opens Friday (October 23). Rating: NNNN
Originally slated for release earlier this month in advance of the federal election, Philippe Falardeau’s My Internship In Canada has been bounced around the calendar and now opens after the vote. Not that its good-natured vision of Quebec and national politics would have made much difference, I suspect.
The picture shows writer/director Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar, The Good Lie) returning to the antic, slightly goofy tone of his earlier C’est Pas Moi, Je Le Jure!
It’s a giddy comedy about fictional Quebec MP Steve Guibord (Patrick Huard), who holds the deciding vote on whether Canada should enter an unspecified war on the other side of the world. To buy time, he announces he’ll consult his constituents – but they’re easily swayed by jingoism and pandering.
It’s all seen through the eyes of his idealistic Haitian intern (Irdens Exantus), who’s also trying to understand Steve’s hawkish wife (Suzanne Clément) and dovish daughter (Clémence Dufresne-Deslières).
It’s a sly comic farce with a great deal to say about retail politics, personal moral codes and – sadly – the ridiculous horse-trading required for someone in Steve’s position to even think about doing the right thing.
See our interview with the director here.
