Victoria Day is a film that hits close to the heart when it comes to being a teenager in a household with parents who immigrated to Canada leaving behind everything they knew to give their children more opportunities than they ever had. Mark Rendall’s character, Ben Spector makes me reminisce about my teenage years as an Indo-Canadian youth, and my parents expectations for me. David Bezmozgiz beautifully captures the internal turmoil of a teenager trying to make their parents happy versus themselves without over exaggerating the issues faced in teenage life. Most teenagers find themselves struggling between their desires, and their parents desires for them, regardless of being an immigrant or not. Although, it is not usually that which drives teenagers to do what they do, rather it is trying to fit in, being cool, friends, girlfriends/boyfriends, and just good o’l fun the kind that sometimes can get you into trouble. You know you’ve been there, and if you haven’t (which I doubt), chances are you didn’t get caught doing stupid teenage stuff, or you still just have not owned up to it.
Yuri’s (Ben's father) desire’s in the film were centered around seeing his son be scouted for hockey, so that he could be the next Gretzky. The scenes shot in this film around the family members, and friends watching or talking about hockey were all too familiar. I’m sure if you don’t identify with this film in regards to the immigrant experience you will identify with it when it comes to hockey, our sport of choice in Canada. Hockey seems to be something that all Canadian’s old and new love.
You can catch Victoria Day at 12:00 noon on Saturday September 26th, or at 9:30 pm on Sunday September 27th at the Globe Theatre.
