Toronto’s Lost Rivers

April 1, 2013 | By

Happy April Fool’s and all that nonsense on a day where an unwanted prank may be inches away from yout fingertips. Mine is apparently the vanishing of basic cable channels from the supplied cable TV feed. It’s either a downed signal, or Rogers finally killed analogue, forcing the laggers to switch to full digital.

Most of what I watch comes in physical and digital media, so the loss of cable doesn’t wholly blow, although I miss my news channels because they provide much mirth and merriment. Politics merely validate the inherent cynicism of the human species.

Just finished watching the last episode of Borgen: Season 2, recently released on Blu-ray and DVD in the U.K. The Danes are masters of cynicism, and celebrate their dry wit more healthily than Canadians. Mhz Networks recently released Season 1 [M] on DVD, and I suspect the next season isn’t too far off, although perhaps a fall North American release is more likely, since Season 3 will premiere on TV in the U.K. in January of 2014. Either way, it’s great television that only occasionally dips into compact melodrama. I’ll have a review of the second season soon.

Uploaded is a review of Caroline Backle’s Lost Rivers [M] (2012) , a cautionary documentary on how cities have bricked up and paved over old waterways, and are slowly realizing the after-effects from removing the natural elements which prevent erosion, flooding, and bad water management.

I like the fact the doc seems almost squarely aimed at Toronto, since we’ve neglected to address water management as condos keep popping up, ready to tax the aging infrastructure of water, the electrical, and public transportation. Likely root of the the misalignment is a city drawn towards easy cash from permits, fees, and taxes rather than sitting out and mapping out a rational future plan. No one ever said Toronto was smart, but I gather most citizens of any city have a healthy cynicism of the world outside their front doors.

Tied to the film review are excerpts from a post-screening Q&A with producer Katarina Soukup and Lost Rivers Toronto founder Helen Mills. The pair expand on issues within the film using local examples, but the problems facing cities are fairly universal.

Coming next: a review of Denmark’s The Killing / Forbrydelsen: Season 3, and Twilight Time’s Pony Soldier (1952), starring Tyrone Power as a Toronto-educated mounted policeman (!) and Cameron Mitchell as his firebrand nemesis in brown paint and one spiffy Indian wig.

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Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com ( Main Site / Mobile Site )

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