LOYALTIES: BURYING THE PAST IN A BRAVE NEW WORLD

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The film ends. The applause is instantaneous from a packed house. It is thunderous! It is also a moment of glory for Metis actress Tantoo (Martin) Cardinal.

The date is September 25 and here in Edmonton, the highly regarded film "Loyalties", has just made its debut. A smash hit at the box office? Perhaps. It is too early to tell. But for those who have seen it, they offer nothing but praise.

If moviegoers are looking for a good tear-jerker or a hell-bent for leather film, forget it. If they're looking for action packed drama or violence, forget that, too.

However, if they're looking for a decent drama with good production and good acting, they're advised to go and see "Loyalties" which is now showing at the West Edmonton Mall Cineplex and the Plaza Theatre in Edmonton and in Lac La Biche.

Believe me, they'll get their money's worth.

It is a powerful film with moving scenes that are plausible. It is a depiction of cultures in conflict, of Native and non-Native lifestyles, attitudes and behaviors minus the typical Hollywood stereotyping of Natives. As a matter of fact, if there's any stereotyping, it is contained in the portrayal of Lily Sutton (Susan Wooldridge), a refined hoity-toity English woman.

Loyalties just may be one of the best films to ever come out of Alberta. It has all the ingredients necessary to be a major winner when the Canadian film awards roll around.

When it premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival, it was "very, very well received," said Pauline Kayek from the National Film Board, who also informed "Windspeaker" that it has been invited to a number of places in the United States, including Los Angeles.

In Toronto, at the Festival of Festivals, it was voted runner up in the category of most popular film. At the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto Globe and Mail film critic, Jay Scott, praised it an "an amazingly accomplished and intelligent film."

The setting for the movie is Lac La Biche, a northern Alberta community where Dr. David Sutton (Kenneth Welsh) is joined by his wife Lily who flies in from England to join him. together, with their children, they lavish in the surroundings of their $200,000 log home complete with all the amenities life can offer.

The Suttons are of English stock and high on the social status order.

On the outskirts of town lives Roseanne Ladouceur (Tantoo Cardinal) a Metis,

and her extended family who occupy an old frame house containing nothing but the bare essentials.

Following a severe beating at the hands of her boyfriend Eddy (Tom Jackson), in a local bar, Roseanne takes on a housekeeping job with the Suttons. Through circumstance, she and Lily are inadvertently drawn together. A close bond fast develops between them, perhaps too fast for the sake of reality but it does not detract from the essence of the movie and one must bear in mind that the producers only have about two hours to work with.

The film contains a hidden element during much of the film in which the dark side of David is eventually revealed.

Throughout the film the start contrast of culture shines through; the "haves" versus the "have nots," the strong family ties of the Ladouceurs versus the detached and straining relationship of the Suttons, the basic day-to-day existence of the Ladouceurs versus the well provided for English family.

But the real beauty of the film rests in its simplicity, naturalness and realism. The rudimentary bush life so common to Natives is accurately portrayed. Obviously, the producers and writers did their homework and must be commended for their efforts.

Director-writer-producer Anne Wheeler of Edmonton says they tried very hard to inject realism, to make the scenes as natural as possible. That requires sensitivity and, on that note, she and screenwriter Sharon Riis share the laurels. The results of their joint effort provide a true reflection of the character of the Native community.

The warm and congenial atmosphere is there. The sharing and giving nture of Native families protrudes. Additional supports stem from Eddy going fire fighting. Mom to a bingo, everyone to the coin laundry, loitering around town, watching the people who pass by, gossiping, piling into the back of a half-ton, and so on. All are symptomatic of the every day lifestyles.

Without the super acting of Cardinal, the movie would not achieve the success it enjoys. She definitely comes across as the dominant character with her strength, compassion, humor and straight-forward manners.

In effect, Cardinal "makes" the movie. Without her talented performance, it would have been nothing more than another "ho-hum" Canadian production.

The film is definitely good. It's solid and has emotion. Loyalties is not a large Hollywood production filled with multiple actors, scenes and so forth. It struggled through on a $2.5 million budget but offers magnificent results.

The film industry is a tough one to crack but Loyalties might just be the kind of success that leads to subsequent success, especially for Cardinal, Wheeler and Riis. Cardinal, originally from the hamlet of Anzac, just south of Fort McMurray, now resides in Saskatoon.

For Cardinal, "Loyalties" could be the big fish. "Everyone that's seen it, thinks she's fantastic," boasts the director, Anne Wheeler. She further stated that, when it was shown at the festivals, people wanted to know why they haven't seen her before and made inquiries as to who her agent is and where she can be contacted.

This is Cardinal's first major role in a movie and it may forecast additional offers of movie contracts. She's been involved in theatrics and drama for some years and despite the frustrations and meagre existence experienced by budding actors and actresses, she never threw in the towel. It is a love and a life that she enjoys, that she thrives on.

If ever there was a victory song, Cardinal can sing it now. If she were to never act again, she'd still have every right to crow. As it stands though, Cardinalhas already moved onto other things. She's in Toronto until early November to take part in the play, "Jessica."

From Toronto, it's on to Cape Breton for a bit part in another movie. After that, it's anybody's guess. Mine is that she'll be snapped up by other directors with offers to act in their movie(s).

When interviewed by "Windspeaker" about "Loyalties" receiving three and one-half and four star ratings as well as the raving reviews about her acting, Cardinal expressed extreme delight. "Wow! I was really pleasantly surprised," she said. "I didn't know it would be that emotionally received."

Speaking of emotions, Cardinal informs us that he role was a very emotional experience for her, right from the start to the finish.

She said she first heard about the script the summer before it was shot and, at that time, she said, " I let it go in one ear and out the other." As for director Wheeler and writer Riis, they claim to have had Cardinal in mind for the role all along. Although several people competed for the part, screen tests proved Cardinal was the best choice for the role and we're happy about that. So are Wheeler and Riis.

A kose kwi yusk! Well done!