''The Bitter Ash'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Larry Kent and released in 1963. One of the first narrative feature films ever shot in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, the film stars

Alan Scarfe Alan John Scarfe (born 8 June 1946) is a British–Canadian actor, stage director and author. He is a former Associate Director of the Stratford Festival (1976–77) and the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool (1967–68). He won the 1985 Genie A ...

as Des, an unhappy blue collar man who is drawn into the city's

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

underground, where he clashes with bohemian intellectual Colin (Philip Brown) over the affections of Colin's wife Laurie (Lynn Stewart). Kent made the film while he was a student at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, and the film was acted primarily by university drama students rather than professional actors.

Matthew Hays Matthew Hays is a Canadians, Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He won a Lambda Literary Award for his 2007 book ''The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers''. Hays teaches film studies, j ...

, "Catch up on your Kent". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 1, 2003. The film was controversial at the time because it depicted sexual activity, brief nudity, profanity and drug use."TIFF movie review: The Bitter Ash". ''

'', September 6, 2012. Unable to secure commercial distribution, Kent exhibited the film by personally undertaking a cross-Canada tour to screen it on university campuses. The film has often been characterized by critics as an

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

, but Kent himself disputed this characterization on the grounds that it didn't have enough sex in it. ''

'' also later wrote that "the story of the collision of bohemian and working-class values in provincial, precountercultural Vancouver, today seems less striking for its formerly transgressive content - sex, extramarital pregnancy, pot-smoking and nudity - than for its fiercely expressed attitude of utter socioeconomic despair." The film later received screenings at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival in the Front & Centre program,

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

, "Mon Oncle Antoine No. 1 with critics". ''

'', August 2, 1984. and at the

2012 Toronto International Film Festival The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 16, 2012. TIFF announced the films that were accepted on August 21, 2012. On its 37th edition the TIFF included a 2 ...

in the Cinemathèque program. It was also part of a retrospective screening of Kent's films, alongside '' Sweet Substitute'', ''

When Tomorrow Dies ''When Tomorrow Dies'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Larry Kent and released in 1965.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 238. The film stars Patricia Gage as Gwen James, a housewife trapped in an unfu ...

'' and ''

High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...

'', which screened at a number of venues in 2002 and 2003, including Cinematheque Ontario in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, the

Pacific Cinémathèque The Cinematheque (legal name: Pacific Cinémathèque Pacifique), founded in 1972, is a Canadian charity and non-profit film institute, media education centre, and film exhibitor based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The organization’s mission i ...

in Vancouver and the

Canadian Film Institute The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) (french: Institut canadien du film (ICF)) Canadian Film Institute involves Canada in the film production, study, appreciation process of film/moving images for cultural and educational purposes. The Canadian Film ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

References

External links

* 1963 films 1963 drama films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Larry Kent Films set in Vancouver Films shot in Vancouver Canadian student films 1960s English-language films 1960s Canadian films {{1960s-Canada-film-stub