Toby McTeague (1985)

Toby McTeague: Directed by Jean-Claude Lord. With Yannick Bisson, Winston Rekert, Andrew Bednarski, Stephanie Morgenstern. Toby is a teenager who doesn’t care much about school. In fact, he has his eyes on the title of a prestigious dog-sleigh race. He will have to undergo extensive training in order to win it.

“An excellent movie for boys (or girls) and their Fathers to see together. Filmed in Sainte Rose du Nord, Quebec. I saw it again recently, for reasons of nostalgia, for the first time since I was a boy. (I grew up in a similar community in Quebec – Sainte Catherine de Hatley – and it made quite a powerful impression then.) I was deeply pleased, however, to find it just as thrilling and enjoyable through adult eyes! Good old fashioned courage, honor, respect for elders and the great outdoors, a little romantic crush, and even a dose of life-lesson sadness are the general themes of the piece, and they are delivered without contrivance through an exciting and often humorous plot. The film moves at a distinctly human pace, and this too I found refreshing. In an age of mile-a-minute roller coaster family movies, Toby McTeague delivers a blast of fresh, cool air.”