My Winnipeg

I must admit knowing next to nothing about Winnipeg. It's not a city I've had any burning desire to spend time in, and I can probably count on one hand the things I know of its history. However last night, in watching Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg", I was enraptured by what I learned about the place. The film itself is fascinating...presented in a dreamlike state that fits perfectly with the major themes. But that's not was has captured my interest so much. What keeps running through my head are some of the bits of history that I learned about through watching this documentary.

For instance, several decades ago, there was a fire at the racetrack in the city. The horses panicked, and bolted from the barns and into one of the near-by rivers (I can't recall if it was the Winnipeg or the Assiniboine). It was winter, and the river was full of ice. The horses couldn't make it across and froze into the ice, with just their heads sticking up above the frozen river. Those heads stayed like that for the rest of the winter. I can't seem to get that horrifying image out of my head...every time I close my eyes it's there. What would it have been like to walk by the river all winter, seeing those dead horses encased in ice?!

Another bit of history that I gleamed from the documentary took place during the second world war. Apparently some members of the Rotary Club decided to make Winnipeg look as though the Nazis had taken over the city. They secretly got a large number of their members to dress up in German uniforms, changed the street names to German names, and went about arresting various teachers and other members of the community, who had no idea that this was just a put on.

The purpose was to show people why winning the war was so important, and to convince them to purchase war bonds. You'd think that the story of this enactment would have been passed down through younger generations, but Maddin said he only stumbled upon this gem by accident. He suggested people in Winnipeg must have been sleepwalking at the time (his film deals a great deal with the idea that Winnipeg is full of sleepwalkers).

Bottom line, this was a great film. Now Jamie and I are off to see Breakfast With Scot. More later.