Clearcut
Directed by Ryszard Bugajski
A white lawyer arrives at a remote area in Northern Ontario to defend Indigenous activists who are blocking a logging company's clearcut of old growth on their land. A pacifist by nature, and perceiving himself as sympathetic to Indigenous concerns, he finds his values shaken when he is paired with an angry, rogue Indigenous activist named Arthur - played by one of Canada's most towering and beloved actors, Graham Greene - who insists on kidnapping the head of the logging company to take him deep into the forest - where he hopes to teach him the price of his destruction.
A white lawyer finds his values shaken when he is paired with an angry Indigenous activist who insists on kidnapping the head of a logging company to teach him the price of his destruction.
Cast: Ron Lea, Graham Greene, Michael Hogan, Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman, Tia Smith
Member Reviews
This has to be the best performance I have ever seen Graham Greene give. He is disturbing, sympathetic, troubling, frightening, and sometimes does all of this with one glance. All of the performances are wonderful. A sometimes graphically violent story centering on the sometimes ethically murky and horrible legacy of colonialism.
One star—mostly because the guy’s review below mine annoyed me and I’m spiteful.
five stars. Not just because it deserves it, but also cuz some special ignorant idiot felt they needed to point out this was some "social justice BS". The true horror is the ignorance.
Can't believe I hadn't run across this until now. Reportedly, of all the films Graham Greene has done, this is his favorite. And here he is simply (and perhaps literally) a force of nature, flooding every scene he is in with magnetism and menace -- a performance that is not to be missed. The film itself is deeply ambiguous -- it aims to raise, but not necessarily answer, a number of quandries about indigenous rights, environmental destruction, social conflict and proportional response. Although very different in plot and setting, I was reminded strongly of Peter Weir's The Last Wave (1977), a profoundly haunting film set in Australia that likewise blends indigenous mysticism with contemporary legal and social concerns, and the clash of cultures.
Great Story! Graham Greene is amazing in this.