The Globe and Mail - 02.11.2019

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R4| ARTS OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019

A COLONY, CRAVE

The typical complaint about Can-

ada’s French-language cinema is

that it never escapes Quebec.

This is certainly true when it

comes to theatrical exposure, but

the best of Québécois cinema is

out there, available for home

viewing, if you just know where

to look. Take Crave, for instance,

which has seemingly made a

concerted effort to expand the

footprint of Canadian independ-

ent cinema, and is now playing

host to Geneviève Dulude-De

Celles’s delicate coming-of-age

dramaUne Colonie(A Colony),

which won the best picture hon-

our at this past spring’s Canadian

Screen Awards. The quiet but

measured film follows the high-

school travails of Mylia (the won-

derful Émilie Bierre), who tries to

blend into a new high school all

while her parents’ marriage dis-

integrates.

Before you turn on your television,
iPad, or laptop this weekend and
drown in options, The Globe and
Mail presents three best bets that
are worth your coveted downtime –
no commute to the movie theatre
required.

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, NETFLIX

At one point in Netflix’s new mo-
vieDolemite Is My Name, a movie-
theatre owner convinces our he-
ro, 1970s comedian and wannabe
movie star Rudy Ray Moore (Ed-
die Murphy) that the best way to
get people to see his self-funded
film is to “four-wall” a venue.
That is, rent the space out and
hope to fill it on his own. It’s a
curious moment for a Netflix
production, given that the
streaming giant has resorted to
just that strategy in its fight
against the big movie houses,
which would rather not make
room for films that will be avail-
able for home viewing at nearly
the same time. But beyond that
bit of inventive meta-business
narrative,Dolemite Is My Name
feels less forward-thinking and
more shaggily comfortable, run-
ning through the let’s-put-on-a-
show formula with a whole lot of
spirit. Essential to the film’s suc-
cess is Murphy, clearly having his
best time in a long time as Moore,
who adopted a flashy pimp-
esque persona that would even-
tually take the blaxploitation
landscape by storm.

PROSPECT, KANOPY

Considering the flood of barely

suitable genre trash that receive

token releases in Toronto theat-

res, it’s surprising that Zeek Earl

and Chris Caldwell’s Prospect

never made it for even a blip of a

screening. The low-budget thrill-

er takes a neat-if-familiar prem-

ise – a father and daughter head

to an abandoned alien moon for

work, only to encounter chaos –

and twists it into a satisfying

meditation on human nature.

Catch it now on the relatively

under-the-radar streaming ser-

vice Kanopy if you want bragging

rights for discovering the

strength of a Pedro Pascal lead

performance before the actor

blows up when he stars in Dis-

ney+’sThe Mandalorianseries

later this month.

ThesurestbetsonNetflix,

CraveandKanopythisweekend

Eddie Murphy has his best time in a long time playing seventies

comedian and wannabe movie star Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite Is

My Name, which is now streaming on Netflix.

BARRY
HERTZ

OPINION

FULLSTREAMAHEAD

F

ans of Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy who watch the new

Bruce Springsteen concert documentaryWestern Stars

might get a sense of déjà vu. Because Springsteen

recorded a live version of his most recent album (also

calledWestern Stars) in the second floor of a barn. Cuddy’s

latest solo album,Countrywide Soul, released two weeks

before Springsteen’s, was also recorded in a barn loft. Spring-

steen also filmed vignettes involving country roads and pick-

up trucks, just as Cuddy had done. As well, for his film,

Springsteen covered the Glen Campbell-famousRhinestone

Cowboy, just as – you guessed it – Cuddy had done forCountry-

wide Soul. Speaking to The Globe and Mail, Cuddy made it

clear who’s boss.

IN HIS WORDS

I didRhinestone Cowboybefore Bruce did. I actually heard

George Canyon do it years ago. I started doing it live and I

recorded it forCountrywide Soul. Later, when I watched

Springsteen’sWestern Starsmovie, I thought “Oh, c’mon,

Bruce, I did that.”

It was tough for me watching that movie, because I’m such

a huge fan of Bruce. It took me a long time to figure out what

was bothering me about it. It came to me while I was watch-

ing the new Clive Davis documentary. It has a clip of a young-

er Bruce Springsteen. He’s so happy and lively and funny. I

thought, “That’s what I miss. I miss the less sincere Bruce.”

There was something intensely self-involved withWestern

Stars.

I recordedCountrywide Soulin my barn. We have a small,

beautiful piece of property outside the city, but not that far

outside. Getting to a rural setting is incredibly and immedi-

ately de-stressing. The house

there, until recently, was very

small. If I wanted to play guitar, I

would go to the second floor of

the barn. It’s a beautifully sound-

ing place, with the wood rafters.

I remember playing up there

during a serious storm. Inside it

was dry. It felt so safe and secure.

So, I wanted to share that with my

band. I didn’t know what to ex-

pect from the record. There’s a

pond there for swimming. I imag-

ined us eating dinner on the lawn.

I just wanted it to be enjoyable for

everybody, but it turned out to be

a lot more. The record is a reflec-

tion of whatever rural soul I have in me.

Everything is calmer, everything is more measured. I think it

had the same effect on everybody.

When I playRhinestone Cowboyin concert, it’s great to look

at the faces in the audience. People know the song, but they

don’t exactly know why. The thing that attracted me to the

song is not just the ubiquitous nature of it, but that it’s a per-

fect song. There’s such an economy of lyric and harmonic

structure. And it tells a lot of story in three minutes, as does

Wichita Lineman, as doesBy the Time I Get to Phoenix. Those

type of songs, of that era, have an amazing economy that’s

not very common any more.

It’s one thing to cover that type of song, but it’s tougher to

write like that. It’s a tough era to emulate, and I don’t even try.

I loveRhinestone Cowboy. But I can’t write in that style. Maybe

I just don’t have an affinity for that kind of writing. I wish I

did, but it’s not my style.

JimCuddy’sCountrywideSoulTourcontinuestoJan.24.

JimCuddyonthesongs

ofyesteryear,findinghis

ruralsoulandbeating

Springsteentothepunch

BRAD WHEELERTORONTO

BETWEENTHEACTS

On his new release, Countrywide Soul, Jim Cuddy covers Glen

Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy, which he describes as the

‘perfect song,’ and insists he was reviving it on stage before

Bruce Springsteen did for Western Stars.HEATHERPOLLOCK

Ididn’tknowwhat

toexpectfromthe

record....Ijust

wantedittobe

enjoyablefor

everybody,but

itturnedoutto

bealotmore.

JIM CUDDY

MUSICIAN