196 Best Movies to Watch From Canada (Page 7)

Read also:

91. Three Pines, 2022

Set in the seemingly idyllic town of Three Pines in Quebec, Canada, Three Pines the series follows Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (Alfred Molina) as he attempts to solve a string of murders and disappearances in the area. It’s a classic whodunnit that doesn't try too hard to be twisty and complicated; instead, it lays out its clues neatly and cleverly without giving too much away, all while digging deep into local issues such as the institutional neglect of indigenous people.

There’s no shortage of mysteries and crime thrillers on TV at the moment, but what makes Three Pines stand out is its seemingly virtuous lead. “You look for good even in the worst of humanity, don’t you?” says one witness about Armand, but it will be interesting to find out just how far his well-meaning ways can go.

Genre: Crime, Mystery

Actor: Alfred Molina

Rating: TV-14

Read also:

92. Things We Lost in the Fire, 2007

	
Things We Lost in the Fire is a touching drama about Audrey (Hall Berry), a married mother-of-two, whose husband Brian (David Duchovny) is killed tragically in a random act of violence. Amidst her grief she comes to connect with Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), Brian’s childhood friend who is living an isolated life as a junkie, and ultimately invites him to live with her and her children. What may sound like a formulaic set-up, with broken souls coming together to find mutual reconciliation, is elevated immeasurably by Susanne Bier’s deft directorial hand. The celebrated director of After the Wedding and In A Better World weaves a poignant narrative about loss and human connectivity, featuring stunningly good performances by both Berry and Del Toro. It’s a film that’s likely to surprise you with its heartfelt tenderness and compassion.Genre: Drama
Actor: Alexis Llewellyn, Alison Lohman, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Halle Berry, John Carroll Lynch, Liam James, Maureen Thomas, Micah Berry, Omar Benson Miller, Patricia Harras, Paula Newsome, Quinn Lord, Robin Weigert, Sarah Dubrovsky, Vincent Foster, 宝拉·纽瑟姆
Director:  Susanne Bier
Rating: R

Read also:

93. The White Ribbon, 2009

	
This 2009 Palme d'Or winner is filmed beautifully in black and white by Michael Haneke. In equal parts mysterious and disturbing, it is set in a northern German village in between 1913 and 1914 where strange events start to happen seemingly on their own. The people of the village, who feel as if they were punished, try to investigate it as the events start affecting them one by one. As they speculate on who is behind the acts that never stop, the film unfolds its slow but captivating plot. A brilliant and unique movie.Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: Aaron Denkel, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey, Birgit Minichmayr, Branko Samarovski, Burghart Klaußner, Burghart Klaussner, Carmen-Maja Antoni, Christian Friedel, Detlev Buck, Enno Trebs, Ernst Jacobi, Fion Mutert, Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Hanuš Polak jr., Janina Fautz, Jonas Jennerjahn, Josef Bierbichler, Kai-Peter Malina, Klaus Manchen, Krzysztof Zarzecki, Leonard Boes, Leonard Proxauf, Leonie Benesch, Levin Henning, Lilli Fichtner, Luzie Ahrens, Malin Steffen, Marcin Tyrol, Maria Dragus, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Marisa Growaldt, Mercedes Jadea Diaz, Michael Kranz, Michael Schenk, Miljan Chatelain, Paraschiva Dragus, Paula Kalinski, Rainer Bock, Roxane Duran, Sebastian Badurek, Sebastian Hülk, Sebastian Łach, Sebastian Pawlak, Simon Pawlowsky, Steffi Kuhnert, Stephanie Amarell, Susanne Lothar, Theo Trebs, Thibault Sérié, Ulrich Tukur, Ursina Lardi, Vincent Krüger
Director: Michael Haneke
Rating: R

Read also:

94. The Dead Don't Hurt, 2024

Written, directed, and scored by Viggo Mortensen, The Dead Don’t Hurt is a visually stunning, emotionally potent, but still impressively restrained period drama that flips the script on typical Westerns. On the surface, it looks like it could be one—there’s even a bad guy clad in black who slings guns outside a saloon—but the film decidedly focuses on Vivienne and her everyday life. Viewers might think nothing is happening, but in fact, everything is happening, such is Mortensen’s framing of the value of these overlooked aspects of life. Immigrants, too, who are usually just extras in Westerns populate this movie and make it their own—as they should. They’re the backbone of America after all, and yet they’re usually relegated to the background in period dramas. The icing on the cake is that the film is breathtakingly beautiful, each frame a transportive picture of 19th-century America.

Genre: Drama, Romance, Western

Actor: Alex Breaux, Colin Morgan, Danny Huston, Garret Dillahunt, Henry Mortensen, John Getz, Luke Reilly, Michael Weaver, Nadia Litz, Ray McKinnon, Shane Graham, Solly McLeod, Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen, W. Earl Brown

Director: Viggo Mortensen

Rating: R

Read also:

95. Stories We Tell, 2012

Stories We Tell got on everyone’s radar when, back in 2015, it made the list of the all-time top ten list of Canadian films. That speaks to both the caliber of this movie and its relevance to North America. It’s in fact a first-person account about (and made by) actress Sarah Polley (Mr. Nobody, Exotica, Away from Her, Take This Waltz). In the film, she investigates the rumor that she was the product of an affair, and that her father might not be her biological father. Her family and suspected fathers are all storytellers, and many of them Academy Award winners. Ultimately, the movie becomes about her family’s remembrance of her now-deceased mother (the famous actress Diane Polley). It’s an examination of how the same story can be told so differently by different people and across time. Lies get added and truths are hidden, and all of that enriches Polley’s pursuit.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Alex Hatz, Alexandra "Allie" MacDonald, Allie MacDonald, Anne Tait, Cathy Gulkin, Christine Horne, Dave Kiner, Deirdre Bowen, Geoffrey Bowes, Harry Gulkin, Jeanie Calleja, Jeff Mallory, Joanna Polley, John Buchan, Lani Billard, Mairtin O'Carrigan, Marie Murphy, Mark Polley, Michael Polley, Mort Ransen, Pixie Bigelow, Rebecca Jenkins, Robert MacMillan, Sarah Polley, Seamus Morrison, Susy Buchan, Thomas Hauff, Tom Butler, Tracey Ferencz, Wayne Curnew

Director: Sarah Polley

Rating: PG-13

Read also:

96. Shame, 2011

	
A devastating depiction of sexual addiction, featuring Michael Fassbender in one of the most remarkable acting displays of the entire year. His performance is nearly matched by Carey Mulligan as his wayward sister, whose intrusion into his lifestyle sets the central conflict of the story in motion. To sex what Requiem for a Dream was to drugs, this is NOT a film to be viewed in any sort of mixed company (note the NC-17 rating). Director and renowned British artist Steve McQueen continues his ascension toward filmmaking royalty, in follow-up to his extraordinary 2008 feature Hunger (also starring Fassbender).Genre: Drama
Actor: Alex Manette, Amy Hargreaves, Anna Rose Hopkins, Calamity Chang, Carey Mulligan, Carl Low, Charisse Bellante, Chazz Menendez, Deedee Luxe, Elizabeth Masucci, Hannah Ware, Jake Siciliano, James Badge Dale, Loren Omer, Lucy Walters, Mari-Ange Ramirez, Marta Milans, Michael Fassbender, Nicole Beharie, Rachel Farrar, Robert Montano
Director: Steve McQueen
Rating: NC-17

Read also:

97. Polytechnique, 2009

Polytechnique directed by Denis Villeneuve, is a dramatization of the 1989 Montreal massacre of multiple female engineering students. This film focuses on a male student navigating the massacre for the majority of the film’s run time. The performances and minimal dialogue in this film certainly make this an unnerving film to watch. Littered with the screams of the actors portraying the engineering students, this could be mistaken as a gaudy horror film. However, this is far from a fictionalized horror.

This Villeneuve classic is undoubtedly one of the most emotionally brutal films of the 2000s, yet I appreciate the honesty of the storytelling. Polytechnique encourages its audience to ask itself if it truly understands the truth of misogyny.

Genre: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller

Actor: Adam Kosh, Alexandre St-Martin, Alexis Lefebvre, Anne Trudel, Cynthia Wu-Maheux, Dawn Ford, Emmanuelle Girard, Eugénie Beaudry, Ève Duranceau, Eve Gadouas, Evelyne Brochu, Francesca Barcenas, François-Xavier Dufour, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Jonathan Dubsky, Josée Lacombe, Julien Maranda, Karine Vanasse, Larissa Corriveau, Lily Thibeault, Louise Proulx, Manon Lapointe, Marc Gourdeau, Marc-André Brisebois, Marie-Évelyne Baribeau, Martin Watier, Mathieu Ledoux, Maxim Gaudette, Mireille Brullemans, Natalie Hamel-Roy, Nathalie Girard, Pierre Leblanc, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Robert Reynaert, Sébastien Huberdeau, Sophie Desmarais, Stéphane Julien, Valerie Cadieux

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Rating: Not Rated

Read also:

98. Poacher, 2024

	
In Poacher, two passionate but low-level wildlife preservers are tasked to bring down a massive crime ring that murders elephants to sell rare ivory. It’s a hefty task, one that’s constantly bogged by red tape and corruption, so it’s not surprising that some scenes go on for too long and wind in repetitive circles. But for the most part, Poacher moves briskly and urgently; it has the familiar beats of a crime drama while never losing its important message about the importance of preserving nature. In lesser hands, the latter could come off as cheesy or preachy, but in Poacher, the message never feels less than life and death. It begins with the animals, as one of the investigators explains, and if the criminals are not caught soon, things will likely freefall into uncontrollable crime and corruption, not to mention a damaged ecosystem that could ruin one of India’s few green spaces forever. It’s a thought-provoking message, one that’s helped by the show’s high production value, heartwarming focus on wildlife creatures, and dedicated performances.Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Ankith Madhav, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kani Kusruti, Nimisha Sajayan, Ranjitha Menon, Roshan Mathew
Director: Richie Mehta

Read also:

99. Maudie, 2017

This moving biopic is about Maud Lewis, the legendary Canadian painter who suffered from arthritis. In the film, Maud gets away from her controlling family by finding a job as a live-in housekeeper for a local fish peddler. It is there where she begins to paint, before marrying the fish peddler in spite of their different personalities. Sally Hawkins, who plays Lewis, brings undeniable spark and soul to the role, for which she had to undergo an astonishing physical transformation.

Maudie is a beautiful and uncomplicated film that challenges the conventions of marriage and relationship roles, while at the same time celebrating Maud Lewis’ paintings and life’s simple pleasures.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Billy MacLellan, Brian Marler, David Feehan, Denise Sinnott, Erin Mick, Ethan Hawke, Gabrielle Rose, Greg Malone, Kari Matchett, Kate Ross, Lawrence Barry, Lisa Machin, Marthe Bernard, Mike Daly, Nik Sexton, Sally Hawkins, Zachary Bennett

Director: Aisling Walsh

Rating: PG-13

Read also:

100. Lilies, 1996

	
Many people have forgotten that representation and diversity in media isn’t meant just to fill a quota or to signal virtue– the push for it is in response to the way many of these stories were silenced, repressed, and shut out. Lilies might have been overlooked for quite a while, but its 2023 restoration has thankfully enabled more viewers to watch the tale of an imprisoned gay man finally telling his story, turning the tables on a long overdue confession. Michel Marc Bouchard adapts his play through this play-within-a-film, with director John Greyson playing with the confession booth as a viewing booth for both the bishop and the audience to get fully immersed in a love triangle a century ago, juxtaposed with motifs of martyred Catholic saints and French lilies and fire. Lilies is a well-crafted and deeply emotional masterpiece.Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Actor: Alain Gendreau, Aubert Pallascio, Brent Carver, Danny Gilmore, Gary Farmer, Ian D. Clark, Jason Cadieux, John Dunn-Hill, Khanh Hua, Marcel Sabourin, Matthew Ferguson, Michel Marc Bouchard, Pierre Leblanc, Rémy Girard, Robert Lalonde
Director: John Greyson

Read also:

101. Lars and the Real Girl, 2007

Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner and Patricia Clarkson. Lars and the Real Girl is a funny and thought-provoking look at the psychology of loneliness and the healing power of love. I rented this a few years back because of Ryan Gosling - he had just blown me away in Fracture so I was trying to catch up on his other movies. It was an unexpected gem. One of the sweetest movies I have ever seen - it was kind of like a fairy tale. With a blow-up doll. Yes, that's right.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Alec McClure, Angela Vint, Annabelle Torsein, Arnold Pinnock, Aurora Browne, Billy Parrott, Boyd Banks, Doug Lennox, Emily Mortimer, Joe Bostick, Joshua Peace, Karen Robinson, Kelli Garner, Lauren Ash, Liisa Repo-Martell, Lindsey Connell, Liz Gordon, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Nancy Beatty, Nicky Guadagni, Patricia Clarkson, Paul Schneider, R.D. Reid, Ryan Gosling, Sally Cahill, Tannis Burnett, Tommy Chang, Torquil Colbo

Director: Craig Gillespie

Rating: PG-13

Read also:

102. Joy Ride, 2023

True to its name, Joy Ride is a raucous delight that has everything you want out of a road trip comedy and more. There’s love, sex, adventure, and even music, but most of all there’s friendship, the interesting complexities of which are explored against the backdrop of race. There’s something meaningful keeping everything together at the core, and first-time director Adele Lim—helped by a strong script and cast—does an excellent job of holding it down. The film is also just plain funny. There are physical gags and of-the-moment jokes, plus a couple of insider quips made for and by the Asian community. But apart from the hilarity and tenderness, the film also delivers in the visual department: it looks gorgeous, not only because the characters are tourists who embark on a jet-setting adventure, but because of the inspired animation and vibrant editing.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Alexander Hodge, Annie Mumolo, Ashley Park, Baron Davis, Chris Pang, Daniel Dae Kim, Darryl Quon, David Denman, Debbie Fan, Desmond Chiam, Isla Rose Hall, Kenneth Liu, Lori Tan Chinn, Meredith Hagner, Michelle Choi-Lee, Nathan Parrott, Ronny Chieng, Sabrina Wu, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Timothy Simons

Director: Adele Lim

Rating: R

Read also:

103. Infinity Pool, 2023

Surreal, off-putting, and extremely disturbing, Infinity Pool plays with the concepts of cloning and the death penalty to craft an examination on colonial tourism. It’s a thematically rich horror film, with hazy neon-lit sex scenes and absolutely terrible behavior, enabled by their wealth and advanced technology that could have been put to better use. Mia Goth, in particular, is strikingly unhinged, as Gabi taunts and lures James into bigger and more terrible crimes, crimes that he can only pay off with the wealth of his father-in-law. And Alexander Skarsgård as James believably gets sucked into this extremely libertine lifestyle, fuelled by the nepotistic anxiety of not living up to his own potential. The film presents a scary notion that pushed by wealth and playground tactics, one will willingly kill their own conscience, again and again, to belong to their cohort.

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller

Actor: Alexander Skarsgård, Alexandra Tóth, Amanda Brugel, Amar Bukvić, Caroline Boulton, Cleopatra Coleman, Gergely Trócsányi, Géza Kovács, Jalil Lespert, Jeff Ricketts, John Ralston, Kamilla Fátyol, Mia Goth, Roderick Hill, Romina Tonković, Thomas Kretschmann, Zijad Gračić

Director: Brandon Cronenberg

Rating: R

Read also:

104. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, 2023

	
When vampires choose not to kill a human, it’s usually played up with so much drama, angst, and maybe a bit of romance. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person on the other hand takes this choice as a comedic one. It may be a tad ludicrous for a vampire to refuse to drink blood on ethical grounds and trauma, but writer-director Ariane Louis-Seize takes this silly situation with a compelling sweetness, depicting Sasha with a familiar teen uncertainty made much more captivating with Sara Montpetit’s gothic ingénue charisma. Humanist Vampire does take a more quirky YA romance approach than expected from the title, but it’s funny, charming, and totally something new.Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Actor: Arnaud Vachon, Félix-Antoine Bénard, Madeleine Péloquin, Marc Beaupré, Marguerite Bouchard, Marie Brassard, Micheline Bernard, Noémie O'Farrell, Patrice Dubois, Patrick Hivon, Pierre-Luc Lafontaine, Sara Montpetit, Sarianne Cormier, Sébastien Beaulac, Sophie Cadieux, Steve Laplante, Sylvie Lemay
Director: Ariane Louis-Seize

Read also:

105. Dead Ringers, 1988

	
As a woman, it’s risky enough to trust a male gynecologist, but to have him seduce, manipulate, and experiment on you? That’s a horror all on its own, but Dead Ringers operates on several levels beyond the political. It’s also psychological and sexual, and because this is a Cronenberg film, it’s done with an unsettling amount of gore. But perhaps the most impressive part of Dead Ringers (apart from Irons convincingly playing twins with just a deft change of inflection, of course) is the eroticism it contains. This element seems to be lacking in many films nowadays, or forced in a way that feels even more uncomfortable than gratuitous sex. The fact that this Reagan-era movie was and continues to be subversive says a lot about how potent it is, and how unfortunately slow we’ve been to tolerate sensuality in film.Genre: Horror, Thriller
Actor: Barbara Gordon, Bob Bainborough, Damir Andrei, David Cronenberg, Dee McCafferty, Denis Akiyama, Denise McLeod, Geneviève Bujold, Hadley Kay, Heidi von Palleske, Jacqueline Hennessy, Jane Luk, Jeremy Irons, Jill Hennessy, John Bayliss, Lynne Cormack, Marsha Moreau, Murray Cruchley, Nicholas Rice, Nick Nichols, Rena Polley, Richard W. Farrell, Shirley Douglas, Stephen Lack, Warren Davis
Director: David Cronenberg
Rating: R

Read also:

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 … 14