''Uncut'' is a 1997 Canadian

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

film written and directed by

John Greyson John Greyson (born March 13, 1960) is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in ...

. Set in

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 ...

in 1979, the film stars

Matthew Ferguson Matthew Ferguson (born 3 April 1973) is a Canadian former actor. He is known for his roles in '' On My Own'' (1991), ''Love and Human Remains'' (1993), ''Lilies'' (1996), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1997–2001). Life and career Ferguson was bo ...

as Peter Cort, a researcher writing a book on male

circumcision Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...

, and

Michael Achtman Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

as Peter Koosens, his assistant who has a sexual obsession with Canadian

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

and regularly doctors photographs to depict himself and Trudeau in romantic entanglements."Greyson cuts through culture of sampling". ''

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 ...

'', July 3, 1998. They later meet Peter Denham (

Damon D'Oliveira Damon D'Oliveira is a Canadian actor and film and television producer, best known as a partner with Clement Virgo in the production firm Conquering Lion Pictures. Originally from Guyana, D'Oliveira moved to Canada in 1976. He had acting roles in ...

), a video artist who sets his films to

Jackson Five The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

songs. After Denham inserts photographs of Koosens and Trudeau into one of his videos, the three are arrested for

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

violation by an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

-singing police officer, put on trial in a courtroom scene set to '' La Habanera'', and sent to a prison boot camp. The film is also intercut with documentary footage of artists such as John Oswald,

A. A. Bronson AA Bronson (born Michael Tims in Vancouver in 1946) is an artist. He was a founding member of the artists' group General Idea, was president and director of Printed Matter, Inc., and started the NY Art Book Fair and the LA Art Book Fair. Earl ...

Linda Griffiths Linda Pauline Griffiths (7 October 1953 – 21 September 2014) was a Canadian actress and playwright best known for writing and starring in the one woman play ''Maggie and Pierre'', in which she portrayed both Pierre Trudeau and his then-estran ...

and

Thomas Waugh Thomas Waugh is a Canadian critic, lecturer, author, actor, and activist, best known for his extensive work on documentary film and eroticism in the history of LGBT cinema and art. A professor emeritus at Concordia University, he taught 41 years ...

discussing

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

, as well as Trudeau himself invoking

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

during the 1970

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...

. The film was inspired in part by the then emerging debate about

outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

closeted LGBT people, while the copyright themes were inspired by Greyson's battle with the estate of

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

over the use of parody versions of Weill songs in his early short film ''

The Making of Monsters ''The Making of Monsters'' is a 1991 Canadian short film, directed by John Greyson. Matthew Hays"Legends: The Making of Monsters" ''POV'', February 1, 2009. Made while Greyson was a student at the Canadian Film Centre, the film's premise is that p ...

''."John Greyson, an Uncut above". ''

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 ...

'', May 30, 1997.

Cast

... Peter Koosens *

... Peter Cort *

... Peter Denham *

Maria Reidstra Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, d ...

... Officer *

Alexandra Webb Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

... Defense Lawyer *

Helene Ducharme Helene or Hélène may refer to: People *Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name * Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda *Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis * Helene (A ...

... Judge *

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom ''Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, Nov ...

... Newscaster * David Roche ... Joe Typist * Shaftiq Ettienne ... Fred Typist

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0120409 1997 films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by John Greyson Canadian LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films 1997 LGBT-related films Cultural depictions of Pierre Trudeau 1997 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films