Whole New Thing

Amnon Buchbinder's "Whole New Thing" ranks among the best independent films of the past year. Solid performances, notably from newcomer Aaron Webber, and assured, mature direction bolster an excellent script (co-written by ubiquitous Canuck playwright and co-star Daniel MacIvor) about the vagaries of family, love and sexuality. Buchbinder's sensitive treatment of his characters never falls into cliché and consistently offers resonant insights. The script is well-paced and adroitly mixes comedy and tragedy to present a well-rounded view of humanity in bittersweet glory.

For those of you who thought Canadian cinema was just about Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg, think again: Amnon Buchbinder is as strong and defined a voice as either of those two, and his soft touch arguably eclipses both in terms of his ability to explore the humanity of his characters.