Movies about Nova Scotia
Margaret’s Museum (1995) is a dramatic depiction of life in a 1940s coal mining town in Cape Breton. Helena Bonham Carter plays the role of Margaret, who is swept off her feet by the bagpipe-playing Neil. He does everything he can to support her without going back to the pits but eventually he must and with tragic consequences. If you want to get a feeling for what Cape Breton was like before tourists flocked to the Cabot Trail, few other movies do it so well.
Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion(2003) is a 2-part series that tells the true story of how, early on December 6, 1917, a French-owned freighter collided with a Belgian relief ship and exploded in Halifax Harbour. The explosion remains one of the biggest man-made blasts to this day and was so powerful that it killed over 2,000 people and flattened large sections of Halifax. The next day, a severe snowstorm blew in, further heightening the tragegy. This is a must-see if you’re interested in the history that shaped the Halifax of today.
Pit Pony (1997) takes you back to Glace Bay, Cape Breton and the year 1901. It’s in this setting that we meet 10-year-old Willie MacLean, who loves horses and going to school. But when a mining accident injures his father and kills his brother, Willie must go down into the pits to help support his family. It’s his bond with his pit pony that helps him make it through each day. This gives great insight into small-town Cape Breton life as it was and it’s also a classic coming-of-age tale.
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006) has its roots in a TV series that follows the antics of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, three friends who live in the fictional Sunnyvale trailer park in Dartmouth and get up to all sorts of trouble. In the movie, the boys are arrested for robbing an ATM machine and when they get out of jail they hatch a plan to steal large amount of untracable coins and ride off into the sunset. This is modern Nova Scotian cinema and it’s very popular with its younger audience.
Marion Bridge (2002) follows Agnes, a recovering alcoholic, back to her home in Sydney, where her mother, who also suffers from alcoholism, has just been hospitalised. Together with her sisters, Theresa and Louise, the three bring their mother back home so they can take care of her together but living together isn’t so easy. |
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