The Rocket

Charles Binamé's 2005 Canadian film is the story of the hockey player Maurice Richard. Richard enters the professional league in the forties while working in a factory as a young French Canadian, and the league's management, referees and press are an English-speaking world that constantly reminds him of his place. The film does not present sport as a story of success; the violence he meets on the ice, the disproportion of the penalties given to him and his refusal to stay silent are at the centre. A suspension in the middle of his career led to a large riot in Montreal, and the film presents that as a sign of the social tension in Quebec. The scenes on the ice were shot with period equipment. Roy Dupuis plays the part quiet and tense. Who it's for: viewers curious about sports films and Canadian history. Who it's not for: anyone with no interest in the political background; the film makes it central.