The Twentieth Century (film)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Twentieth Century (film), 1934.
The Twentieth Century
Oscilloscope Pictures
Release date
  • September 10, 2019 (2019-09-10) (TIFF)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

The Twentieth Century is a 2019 Canadian

black comedy written and directed by Matthew Rankin in his full-length directorial debut.[1] The film presents a fictionalized portrait of the rise to power of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King as played by Dan Beirne.[2] It won three Canadian Screen Awards
.

Historical divergence

The film is not a realistic or literally accurate depiction of Canadian history,

German Expressionism, 1940s melodrama and wartime propaganda films.[4] Rankin himself described it as "one part Canadian Heritage Minute and one part ayahuasca death trip".[5]

Although most of the film's major characters are at least loosely based on real Canadian historical figures, not all of their careers actually coexisted. In reality, although Mackenzie King and

Boer War. Minto really did have daughters named Ruby and Violet, although both were only teenagers, not adult women, as of 1899. Joseph-Israël Tarte was also a real political figure, although he did not serve concurrently with either King or Meighen and was not strongly associated with the Quebec nationalist
movement; he was, however, an opponent of Canadian entry into the Boer War.

According to Rankin, "I wanted everything to feel artificial all the time. The conceit of the film is that Canada might just be totally fake and in this person’s head. And the film is about his head. Everything in the film is drawn from Mackenzie King’s diary and reprocessed. I describe it as a nightmare that he might have had in 1899."

Sullivan Entertainment costume dramas.[6]

The film also makes use of both

Captain von Trapp and a transgender Artful Dodger and it's fine. In film, I don’t understand why there’s this pressure to always link an actor to their exact demographic profile."[6]

Cast

Sean Cullen plays the role of the Governor General.

Release

The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in the Midnight Madness program,[7] and won the festival's award for Best Canadian First Feature Film.[8] The film was subsequently screened at the 2019 Los Cabos International Film Festival,[9] where it won the festival's Premio Competencia award.[10]

Critical reaction

On

weighted average
score of 77 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Film critic Peter Howell described the film as "Monty Python by way of Rankin’s fellow Winnipegger Guy Maddin",[11] while David Friend of The Canadian Press said the film "subverts the mystique around politicians by mocking patriotism, propaganda and Canadian identity."[12]

For The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Mintzer described the film as "Guy Maddin meets John Waters by way of Powell and Pressburger".[13]

In 2023, Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail named the film as one of the 23 best Canadian comedy films ever made.[14]

Accolades

In December 2019, the film was named to TIFF's annual year-end

Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards in 2020.[16]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref(s)
Berlin International Film Festival 20 February – 1 March 2020
FIPRESCI Prize
(Forum) 		Matthew Rankin Won [17]
Canadian Screen Awards 28 May 2020 Best Motion Picture Ménaïc Raoul, Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette Nominated [16][18]
Best Actor Dan Beirne Nominated
Best Director Matthew Rankin Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Art Direction/Production Design Dany Boivin Won
Best Costume Design Patricia McNeil Won
Best Hair Nermin Grbic Won
John Dunning Best First Feature Matthew Rankin Nominated
Directors Guild of Canada 26 October 2019
DGC Discovery Award
 Nominated [19]
Los Cabos International Film Festival 13 – 17 November 2019 Best Film Won [20]
Prix Iris 10 June 2020 Best Director Nominated [21][22]
Best Art Direction Dany Boivin Won
Best Sound Bernard Gariépy Strobl, Sacha Ratcliffe, Lynne Trépanier Nominated
Best Editing Matthew Rankin Nominated
Best Costume Design Patricia McNeil Won
Best Makeup Adriana Verbert Won
Best Hairstyling Nermin Grbic Won
Best First Film Matthew Rankin Nominated
Toronto International Film Festival 5–15 September 2019 Best Canadian First Feature Film Won [23]
Vancouver Film Critics Circle 7 January 2020 Best Canadian Film Nominated [24][25]
Best Director of a Canadian Film Nominated
One to Watch Won
Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film Nominated
Best Actor in a Canadian Film Dan Beirne Won
Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film Louis Negin Nominated
Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film Catherine St-Laurent Nominated
Grindhouse Paradise 3 – 5 September 2021 Audience Prize Matthew Rankin Nominated [26]

References

  1. ^ Duchesne, André (July 29, 2019). "Le premier long métrage de Matthew Rankin au FNC". La Presse.
  2. ^ "Oscilloscope heads to The Twentieth Century". Playback. August 2, 2019.
  3. ^ Knight, Chris (December 11, 2019). "Chris Knight: Canada's 10th PM was a total oddball — at least thats what Matthew Rankin wants you to believe". National Post.
  4. ^ Blichert, Frederick (September 26, 2019). "'The Twentieth Century' May Be the Heritage Minute We Need". The Tyee.
  5. ^ Forani, Jonathan (September 5, 2019). "'Heritage Minute from hell': Mackenzie King has boot fetish in TIFF flick". CTV News.
  6. ^ a b c Kevin Ritchie, "Director Matthew Rankin plunges into the depths of Canadian shame". Now, December 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Howell, Peter (July 31, 2019). "Indigenous films highlight Canadian slate at TIFF 2019". Toronto Star.
  8. ^ Vlessing, Etan (September 15, 2019). "Toronto: Taika Waititi's 'Jojo Rabbit' Wins Audience Award". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. ^ Larson, Richard Scott (November 23, 2019). "Los Cabos Film Festival 2019: Workforce, The Twentieth Century, Waves, & More". Slant Magazine.
  10. ^ Hopewell, John (November 16, 2019). "'Twentieth Century,' 'Dove and the Wolf,' 'Hurricane Season' Win Los Cabos Festival". Variety.
  11. ^ Howell, Peter (December 12, 2019). "'The Twentieth Century' has fun portraying Mackenzie King as a loonie prime minister". Toronto Star.
  12. ^ Friend, David (14 September 2019). "Six stellar films that flew under the radar at the Toronto International Film Festival". CityNews/The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  13. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (September 27, 2019). "'The Twentieth Century': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  14. ^ Barry Hertz, "The 23 best Canadian comedies ever made". The Globe and Mail, June 28, 2023.
  15. ^ Wilner, Norman (December 11, 2019). "TIFF announces Canada's top 10 films of 2019". Now.
  16. ^ a b Wilner, Norman (February 18, 2020). "Canadian Screen Awards 2020: Prepare for a Schitt's show". Now.
  17. ^ Roxborough, Scott (1 March 2020). "Berlin: Christian Petzold's 'Undine' Wins FIPRESCI Critics Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  18. ^ Weaver, Jackson (28 May 2020). "Antigone named best picture on final night of Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Nominees announced for 18th Annual DGC Awards". CNW Group. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  20. ^ Hecht, John (16 November 2019). "'Twentieth Century' Wins Top Prize at Los Cabos Film Fest". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  21. The Huffington Post
    (in French). 23 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  22. Radio-Canada
    . 10 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  23. ^ Knight, Chris (15 September 2019). "TIFF 2019: The winners, losers and honourable mentions of the film festival". National Post. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  24. ^ Mack, Adrian (December 13, 2019). "Marriage Story dominates Vancouver Film Critics Circle noms". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  25. ^ "Vancouver film critics award 'The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open'". Tri-City News. January 7, 2020. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  26. ^ "The Twentieth Century". 25 June 2021.

External links

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