My Internship in Canada

I saw this at a film festival and hope it gets wide distribution because it's a hilarious satire of politics. Many laugh-out-loud moments! It's set in Canada, but anyone in the US or elsewhere can identify with the characters, and the chemistry between the two leads is fantastic. The actor who plays the Canadian MP was in another great movie, Starbuck. The actor who plays the intern reminds me of a young Eddie Murphy -- great charisma, timing, and physical comedy. There is also a subplot with his family back home which shows the contrast between cultures and provides lots of laughs. All the supporting players are wonderful. Highly recommended!

One day a young Haitian writes letters to all the Canadian Members of Parliament hoping to find someone who will take him on as an intern. His only response comes from Monsieur Guibord, sitting as an Independent, and representing a large remote area of the province of Quebec. The situation turns to chaos and hilarity quickly, when the Prime Minister calls for a vote on an important issue, and Monsieur Guibord's vote is going to make or break the decision. Guibord decides to look to the citizens in his riding to gauge their opinions - and everybody has one !! This being an election year in Canada, this film couldn't have been released at a better time. It takes a serious look at the business of politics, and yet never becomes heavy-handed. If you get the opportunity to see this film, please do so. It is excellent value for the ticket price.

I saw "Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre" on August 10th at the Locarno Film Festival. Part of the cast, including director Philippe Falardeau, introduced the world premiere of the movie and joked with the audience (almost 5'000 people fitting the stunning setting of Piazza Grande: the outdoor cinema of the festival). I must say that the acting was very good, with solid performances by Patrick Huard, Suzanne Clément and Irdens Exantus. Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre played like a political comedy, sometimes quite funny, but overall boring. I fell asleep a couple of times during the screening (not an easy task, when you are sitting in front of a giant screen of 85x45 feet, filled with loud surround sound.

An unfortunate fact about this film is that its nuance would be lost in English translation, and most won't watch it with subtitles.

The acting was fabulous, although the Haitian was a stereotype.

Content: Not spoon-fed but clear enough. This was insightful both on a political and philosophical level.

Humor: It's difficult to determine whether this would be funny to someone not well-versed in Quebec culture. But to someone who is, the humor was present throughout, even the most 'serious' parts. Nicely done. There is an abundance of accessible, blue collar humor.

Editing: No obvious issues.

Pace: Fast and fluent.

Story: One turn of events could have been better explained (as pertains to the main character's wife).

Female characters: One gets the feeling that the daughter's role was written by a woman and the wife's by a man. The former was much more defined.

Overall, everyone involved in this film should be proud. The Harper parody was hilarious!

Funny, witty, full of stereotypes, great watch for a lazy day. I am from Quebec so the scenery and distance as well as the small town vibes and relationships between first nations and locals were well depicted in satire. None of the movie should be taken seriously or offensively, it's just a demonstration of the absurdity of politics in Canada. I would be glad to watch a sequel, I am not aware if there is one. I will be recommending this movie to my local friends. It is called My Internship in Canada on Prime TV so if you're looking for it type that into the search engine. Don't expect a masterpiece and you won't be dissapointed but pleasantly surprised!