Most Americans have probably never heard of this movie, which is considered a classic of Canadian cinema. If you\u2019re among those who know nothing of this work, please seek it out \u2013 it might be one of the best films you\u2019ve never seen.
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Set in rural Ottawa valley, the film focuses on itinerant bush worker Emery Parmenter, a man whose pride obscures his sense of responsibility. Emery and his large family \u2013 a wife and nine children, with another baby on the way \u2013 live in poverty and rely on clothing donations from a welfare worker. But Emery refuses to apply for financial assistance, stubbornly insisting that he can provide for his family despite an erratic income stream and health that is being weakened with beer drinking and smoking.<\/p>\n
Emery\u2019s way of life comes under attack from his eldest child, 16-year-old Rosie, who complains that neighboring families that received government assistance have higher standards of living, including a new refrigerator, the money to buy groceries from a store (Emery hunts and fishes most of the family\u2019s meals), and a television set. Rosie wants to break away from the poverty of their area and make her own money, but Emery believes her place is in the Ottawa Valley where she should marry and have babies \u2013 and he blames Rosie\u2019s schooling for putting such wild ideas in her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar\u201d was a National Film Board of Canada production created for broadcast on CBC, but it is far from the typical made-for-television movie. Joan Finnigan\u2019s screenplay unfolds slowly but carefully \u2013 there is no huge backstory reveal that explains Emery\u2019s self-destructive behavior, although it gradually becomes obvious that he is the product of generational rural poverty and believes this is the best way for anyone to live. He actively encourages his oldest son disrespect his mother and skip school to join him in scrounging for work at a local sawmill, thus ensuring a new generation continues to follow in his family\u2019s raggedy path.<\/p>\n
Rosie represents a new generation of women who want something better in their lives. She decries her mother\u2019s perpetual state of pregnancy as being akin to imprisonment, and she dares to find her own sense of maturity in a brief fling with one of her father\u2019s friends. Ultimately, she rejects her father when he refuses to seek financial assistance and escapes with the social worker. Her final appearances show her wearing a then-modern mini-skirt as she heads to an employment agency in a city, and later she is seen as a telephone operator \u2013 the first step on her road to self-reliance.<\/p>\n
Rosie was played by a 19-year-old Margot Kidder in her screen debut, and she is utterly astonishing. Kidder brings a unique mix of sensitivity and steeliness to the role, and her character\u2019s arguments with her father carry a maturity and resolve that makes her a force of intelligence. Chris Wiggins\u2019 Emery is irascible and charismatic, making the character\u2019s willful refusal to acknowledge his misfortune truly jolting. The scenes between Kidder and Wiggins offer some of the most subtle acting you\u2019ll ever see. <\/p>\n
Kate Reid is Emery\u2019s wife and she has relatively little dialogue, but her pleased expressions amid the domestic chaos of her home and the glee she shares with her husband in his refusal to follow doctor\u2019s orders on a health regimen makes her a disturbing equal partner in the perpetuation of their family\u2019s poverty.<\/p>\n
Director Peter Pearson shot this film with a grimy black-and-white 16mm style that gives the impression of a documentary, and at 49 minutes the movie gets its message across without an ounce of cinematic fat. The one mistake in the film is the use of Hector Berlioz\u2019s \u201cHarold in Italy\u201d on the soundtrack \u2013 it doesn\u2019t fit and badly detracts from the scenes it is supposed to enhance. But that doesn\u2019t ruin the film.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar\u201d won eight Canadian Film Awards including Best Picture and is available on YouTube. It deserves your attention.<\/p>\n