Findley’s ‘The Wars’ returns to screen
A Canadian movie that features a treasure trove of national talent both in front of and behind the camera — and that hasn’t been seen for 35 years — will return to screens on Saturday.
“The Wars,” the 1983 film adaptation of Timothy Findley’s 1977 novel — about a19-year-old from affluent Rosedale who enlists in the First World War — will debut at 8 p.m. Saturday on the Encore Plus YouTube channel.
The movie was directed by the late Robin Phillips, known as one of the Stratford Festival’s most successful artistic directors. In the film, he guided a who’s who of powerhouse acting talent — many of whom, like Phillips, are no longer with us — including Brent Carver, Martha Henry, William Hutt, Ann-Marie MacDonald (in only her second screen role), Jackie Burroughs, Domini Blythe, Susan Wright, Rod Beattie, Shirley Douglas and Marti Maraden.
Findley, one of Canada’s most acclaimed novelists, also wrote the screenplay. And the score is by musical genius Glenn Gouldand was the last he wrote before he died.
“It’s an incredible film, it’s very powerful and very moving,” says Paula Abarca-Cantin, the programming and operations lead for Encore Plus. “What’s so special is that it has not been seen for 35 years anywhere.”
The channel was created in partnership with the Canada Media Fund to showcase Canadian film and TV content.
“The Wars” will premiere with an introduction by Henry, MacDonald, Beattie, Maraden, executive producer Pat Ferns and Joe Mandel, who was Phillips’s partner.
It will be available free to anyone in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, and will remain on the channel after Saturday’s debut, which includes an introduction-free 11 p.m. screening. Debra Yeo