My Internship in Canada

A political comedy set in Canada. Steve Guibord is an independent member of parliament. He represents a huge, empty riding in northern Quebec. He is a former hockey player. He does not know much about politics. The country is on the eve of a decision about entering a war. The numbers in parliament are level. The decision rests on one vote and that vote is Guibord's. Suddenly everyone wants him. The prime minister, the opposition, journalists and lobbyists. He has an intern. Souverain came from Haiti; he studied political science and genuinely believes in Canadian democracy. The young man makes a suggestion: ask the voters. From there the film is a story about a tour. The two go into the riding and listen to people town by town. Everyone has a demand. A road, a mine, a bridge, work. Nobody talks about the war. Everyone talks about what they will get in return. Meanwhile a road blockade begins and the region locks up. His family presses him too. His wife on one side, his daughter on the other, and each wants the opposite. What the narrative is interested in is not war but representation: its idea is that it is never clear on whose behalf a member of parliament speaks, and that everyone wants something else from him. Souverain's line is the film's warm side. The young man believes the system works and what he sees does not match it at all. The humour is dry and the mockery is aimed at the government and the electorate alike. The ending gives no answer and how the vote was cast becomes visible only at the last moment. Philippe Falardeau directed; he had made Monsieur Lazhar earlier. Patrick Huard, Irdens Exantus, Suzanne Clément and Clémence Dufresne-Deslières are in the cast. Who it is for: anyone who likes Quebec cinema and political satire. Who it is not for: anyone expecting hard criticism; the narrative genuinely wounds no one and stays mild throughout.