Adam’s Wall – Directed by Michael MacKenzie

“Thanks to appealing performances by its two leads and the rich local colour of its Montreal setting, this modest Canadian drama puts a pleasingly fresh spin on the time-tested tale of young lovers who dare to reach across a cultural divide.The male side of the equation in Adam’s Wall is Adam (Jesse Aaron Dwyre), but he’s more open and accepting than the title might imply. Despite growing up in the Orthodox Jewish community in Montreal’s culturally mixed Mile End neighbourhood with his conservative rabbi grandfather (Gabriel Gascon), he has inherited the gentler disposition of his unobservant peace-activist parents, who were accidentally killed 10 years ago during a trip to the West Bank.

He also shares their love of music, much to his grandfather’s consternation. While on his way to a school audition, Adam literally stumbles upon a student protest.

There, the shy young man enjoys a cute moment with a woman dressed in a burqa. As it turns out, Yasmine Gibran (Flavia Bechara) is only wearing it as part of the demonstration. That Adam’s new Lebanese friend is Christian rather than Muslim doesn’t make their budding romance any less objectionable in the eyes of their parents.”

Read the full article by Jason Anderson, The Star.com

This reads to me like a modern day Romeo and Juliet, but I suppose there’s a reason why that story is a timeless classic, it happens.

This appears to be playing in Toronto only at the moment, but with some luck we’ll be able to track down a copy, or at the very least catch it on the CBC. If anyone has managed to see it, please feel free to provide some feedback.

Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis breaks French box office records

A regional french comedy set in the chilly, rain swept north of France has become the most successful French film ever, breaking a 41-year-old record.

“Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis” (which means ‘Welcome to the home of the Ch’tis’ in french) has sold 17.405 million tickets at the time of this writing and is now on course to beat France’s all time box-office record, held by “Titanic”, which sold more than 20 million tickets. The previoous record was held by the 1966 comedy “La Grande Vadrouille’ which sold 17.267 million tickets.

“Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis”is about a postal worker from the hot south who is reassigned to a distant village in the north. The not-so-happy postman learns to value the loveable cast of characters he runs into, their traditions and their strange accent.

Wildly popular with “Ch’tis” themselves in the north, the movie has pulled in audiences across the whole country and President Nicolas Sarkozy has even asked for a special private screening in the Elysee Palace (supposedly).

Click here to visit the official site of the movie and click here to view the trailer.