Finally, a film that gives you the voices of the Cree elders, the people of Quebec, the rhetoric of the politicians, the Crees and non-Crees, the desire of Hydro-Quebec to build the Great Whale project and a chance to listen to Cree youth express their concerns about an uncertain future.
More or less, that is Power Of The North in a nutshell. But what meat this nutshell contains.
It is the battle for who controls the power of the North, with Cree First Nations pitted against megacorp Hydro-Quebec. The arena is all of Quebec, the United States and Europe.
Power Of The North is a new film put out by Montreal-based Wildheart Productions. It will be shown on TV in the U.S., Canada and beyond, and will soon be available in your community. Two years in the making, it is a no-holds-barred look at all the players in this game letting you see both sides’ agenda.
My favourite music pick of Power’s mindblowing soundtrack was the Fish Song. With a sense of darkish humour, it goes over Hydro’s positions and the problem of mercury poisoning of the fish. It should be sent out as a music video so everyone can enjoy it! Also Metallica, Buffy Ste-Marie, Talking Heads, Wagner and Kashkun add to this heavy soundtrack. The Metallica song, Nothing Else Matters, is actually pretty amazing considering that it’s the first time this band has let one of its songs be used in a movie, despite many requests.
When Wagner played during one of the Hydro-Quebec scenes, even as a Cree who opposes the project, I could understand.
I could understand the sense of grandeur that Hydro felt with its accomplishments in the Far North.
It shows the positions of the pro crowd as they see them.
It made me angry when Richard Le Hirques questioned whether or not natives have anything to contribute or teach him. Then he went on to question whether aboriginal peoples even had civilizations before the Europeans came along.
When Buffy did the Starwalker song during the Cree sequence, I swear I got chills running up and down my back. That woman’s voice just reaches in, grabs hold of something and pulls.
The words of former Cree Chief Robbie Dick and his wife Elizabeth still haunt me. They were powerful and direct. There was nothing hidden, the Cree lifestyle comes through. I felt the pride and resolve to continue the battle to save the Great Whale River.
The film made me feel a lot of emotions in less than an hour.
I was initially filmed in the movie too, but edited into never never-land, so don’t worry about having to see me.
I congratulate Wildheart Productions on coming up with a film that leaves you breathless until the end. I congratulate everyone who worked on the film, including Nation staff members Catherine Bainbridge, Katerina Cizekand Ernie Webb, for making something you can be proud of. Power Of The North tells it all.
