''Rupert's Land'' is a Canadian comedy film, directed by

Jonathan Tammuz Jonathan Tammuz is a British-Canadian film director, best known for directing the short film ''The Childeater'' and the feature film ''Rupert's Land''. ''The Childeater'' was a shortlisted Academy Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Film at th ...

and released in 1998. The film stars Samuel West and Ian Tracey as Rupert and Dale McKay, estranged half-brothers on a

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by t ...

from Vancouver to

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

for their father's funeral.Glen Schaefer, "B.C. road movie worth the ride". '' The Province'', October 30, 1998. Rupert, who was raised primarily in England after his mother left their father to return home, has become a wealthy lawyer, while Dale, who remained in Canada, is a hard-nosed fisherman and small-time drug dealer, forcing the duo to overcome significant differences as they reconcile.Marc Horton, "Madcap film short on laughs; Rupert's Land has occasional charming moments, but ...". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', December 18, 1998. The cast also includes Susan Hogan as Dale's mother Trudy, Gabrielle Miller as his girlfriend Shelley, and George Wendt as Bloat, a former friend of Dale and Rupert's father who owns and operates a rural

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

farm commune. The film premiered at the

1998 Toronto International Film Festival The 23rd Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 10 to September 19, 1998. A total of 311 films were screened during the ten-day festival, commencing with the opening gala, ''The Red Violin''. Awards Programmes Gala Opening Nigh ...

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics. It was reviewed favourably by Glen Schaefer of '' The Province'', who wrote that it was "a funny ride that will ring familiar with anyone who's ever had to be in

Pouce Coupe The Village of Pouce Coupe (; French for "cut thumb") is a small town in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. It was originally named 'Pouskapie's Prairie', after the name of the ...

New Denver New Denver is at the mouth of Carpenter Creek, on the east shore of Slocan Lake, in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The village is west of Kaslo on Highway 31A, and southeast of Nakusp and northeast of Slocan on ...

by dawn, with not quite enough time or money to get there." Marc Horton of the ''

'' was more critical, writing that "Somehow, though, I never much believed in either their fights or their ultimate acceptance of one another. Perhaps it is because they are not all that easy to care about: Rupert loses a bit of twittiness and Dale softens, but it's too little too late. Still, there are the occasional moments of charm, and an ending that's marginally surprising, although painfully neat and tidy. In the end it's a sitcom, without the com. Geoff Pevere of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' was more mixed, calling it bumpy but fitfully engaging. He praised West, Tracey and Wendt for their performances, but concluded that "the shame is, the good parts tend to pass by like the moments of interest in an otherwise dull road trip: arresting at the time, but too few and fleeting to make the whole thing worthwhile."

Awards and nominations

The film received five

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

nominations at the

19th Genie Awards The 19th Genie Awards were held on February 4, 1999 to honour Canadian films released in 1998. It marked only the second time in the 1990s, after the 16th Genie Awards in January 1996, that the awards were held in the winter of the year ''followin ...

in 1999, for Best Motion Picture, Best Director (Tammuz),

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

(West), Best Supporting Actor (Wendt) and

Best Sound Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awa ...

(Jacqueline Cristianini, James Fonnyadt, Adam Gejdos, James Genn, Kirby Jinnah and Cam Wagner). The film won six Leo Awards in 1999, for Best Feature Length Drama, Best Direction in a Feature Length Drama (Tammuz), Best Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama (Tracey), Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Drama (Gregory Middleton), Best Editing in a Feature Length Drama (Roger Matiussi) and Best Production Design in a Feature Length Drama (Brian Davie). It was also nominated, but did not win, for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama (2; Miller, Hogan), Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama ( Graeme Manson), and Best Overall Sound in a Feature Length Drama.Alex Strachan, "Da Vinci's Inquest, Rupert's Land top B.C. TV and film awards list". '' Vancouver Sun'', April 21, 1999.

References

External links

Official website
* {{IMDb title, 130229, Rupert's Land 1998 films English-language Canadian films Canadian comedy road movies 1998 independent films 1990s comedy road movies Canadian independent films Films shot in British Columbia Films set in British Columbia 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films English-language independent films