Whole New Thing (2005)

Comedy,Drama Canada / English "Who was YOUR first crush? " Divx 5 : 17 After years of being home schooled by hippie parents, Emerson (Webber) is enrolled at his local high school. The intelligent and androgynous youth confounds his classmates and captures the attention of his English teacher (MacIvor). The teacher-student relationship leads to problems for everyone involved. Aaron Webber Emerson Robert Joy Rog Rebecca Jenkins Kaya Daniel MacIvor Don Grant Kathryn MacLellan Ms. McPherson Drew O'Hara Todd Ryan Hartigan Jeff Geordie Brown Buddy Callum Keith Rennie Denny Jackie Torrens Claire Lisa Lelliott Massage Guest Leah Fassett Laura Samantha Spencer Debra Rebecca Regan Teri Marguerite McNeil Don's Mother

Director:	Amnon Buchbinder
Producer:	Kelly Bray,Camelia Frieberg
Writer:	Amnon Buchbinder,Daniel MacIvor

Smart, compelling and funny

Amnon Buchbinder's "Whole New Thing" ranks among the best independent films of the past year. Solid performances, notably from newcomer Aaron Webber, and assured, mature direction bolster an excellent script (co-written by ubiquitous Canuck playwright and co-star Daniel MacIvor) about the vagaries of family, love and sexuality. Buchbinder's sensitive treatment of his characters never falls into cliché and consistently offers resonant insights. The script is well-paced and adroitly mixes comedy and tragedy to present a well-rounded view of humanity in bittersweet glory.

For those of you who thought Canadian cinema was just about Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg, think again: Amnon Buchbinder is as strong and defined a voice as either of those two, and his soft touch arguably eclipses both in terms of his ability to explore the humanity of his characters.

Personal

Seen it:	Nej
Nr of disks/tapes:	1
Storage device:	Divx 5