Documentary Not a Happy Celebration of Canada’s National Parks

A scene from 'The National Parks Project,' shot in Canada's ten provinces and three territories. (Courtesy of Hot Docs)

If “The National Parks Project” was meant to be a celebration of Canada’s prestigious national parks, it sure wasn’t a happy one. The documentary is a collage of 13 experimental films shot by 13 directors and 39 musicians. Each short film gives us a glimpse of Canada’s stunning landscapes, but what we see in the parks often does not give room for salutation.

Most of the musicians who participated in the documentary, screened as part of the Hot Docs film festival, strummed or sang their notes in minor. Some even disturbed the solemn windy hills with squirming electric guitar chords.

The documentary is billed as the next chapter after the nation’s iconic Group of Seven. It sounds poetic but the 13 short films tell a different story. Here and there we see pipes, rusted canisters, burned chairs, and extinct bison carcases.

Inside the parks, several of the musicians seemed uncomfortable in their own skin and somewhat out of place, as though they were unable to come to terms with the unchanging landscape. We see some of them retreat deep into thought, some show roots of loneliness, and others just bash the guitar chords. They were a sore spot against the grey mountain peaks and green prairies.

All 13 directors came out with a similarly eerie product. The documentary was unable to make me forget about the steel and concrete world that exists outside the national parks—that urban chaos always seemed to encroach on the natural sanctuaries.

The film unintentionally exposes the state of society and the impact environmental degradation has on our minds. It was hard to look at Canada’s treasures and not think about environmental threats, such as ongoing oil spills or the nuclear fallout from the Fukushima Daichi plant creeping in the Pacific Ocean. I think if I hadn’t read the description of the documentary I’d think it was mourning our dying nature rather than celebrating the parks.

The late night screening was also not a good choice. By the eighth film many in the audience rubbed their eyes and yawned. Some dozed off and some left the theatre. But there were a few who were engaged in the film. It is just like with any experimental documentary—you’re free to interpret it however you want.