Indian Horse, Vue Omni, Edinburgh International Film Festival

Saul Indian Horse and his brother are taken into the wilderness to avoid being taken by 'the white man' and sent to one of the residential schools in which children of the indigenous population were separated from their families and forcibly indoctrinated into christianity.  Despite the best efforts of his grandmother (less so his parents who have already been converted), Saul ends up in Saint Jerome's where the only thing he learns is how to survive the cruelty of the priests and nuns who make life hell for the children.  His saviour proves to be hockey, the national sport, which the apparently kinder Father Gaston has introduced to the limited range of activities available.  At first Saul is too young to be allowed to play, but through offering to clear the rink each day he teaches himself how to skate and handle a stick (including a very imaginative way of creating his own pucks) he soon shows he has a natural gift for the sport.

It will eventually take him away from the regime he's been subjected to, and towards a potential future as a pro hockey player.  But the racism that underlay the school system also permeates the crowds he must play in front of and it becomes clear that it will require much more than his talent if he's to make it to the top.

Although the film is based on Richard Wagamese's novel of the same name, the opening, packed with information about the brutal residential school system, and narrated by the adult Saul, gives it the feel of a docudrama, something it fails to sustain.  Three actors play Saul at different times of his life, but they become less convincing with age, and it's the six year old 1959 version (Sladen Peltier) who gives the best performance.

As an introduction to the iniquities of the treatment meted out to First Nation children (the system was only finally closed down in 1996) this is a powerful statement, showing the Catholic church in Canada to be the equal in their inhumanity to the Magdalen Laundries in Ireland.  It's also a reminder, through some excellent action sequences, of what a powerful cultural force hockey is in the country, and why it's one of the world's great sports.  But as a drama it sometimes feels let down by plot devices that jar rather than flow.  Well worth seeing, but there's a sense this could have been a better movie if the director had let the story tell itself.

Oh, and if any Caps fans happen to read this.... you'll have memories of our great #23 from a few years back.

Match Impressions - Edinburgh Capitals SNL vs Paisley Pirates

A drama with enough twists and turns in the plot to keep the crowd guessing.  This time we were watching the 'wee' Caps side.  They play in the Scottish National League in which imported players are banned, the speed of the game is that bit slower, and the standard of the teams varies greatly.  Earlier in the season I watched them complete an 18-0 demolition job on one of the lower ranked teams, but that was never likely to be repeated tonight.  Following a defeat by Kirkcaldy the SNL Caps team needed to win their remaining three league matches if they were to be sure of retaining the title they won last year.   And Paisley, just one place behind them in the table, would be the toughest of the trio.

It certainly looked that way from the start, the west coast side having the best of the opening minutes.  Edinburgh got back into the match and created chances aplenty, but without the necessary finishing touch.  Instead it was Pirates who took the lead, and added a second before the twenty minutes were up.  But I've seen this squad making comebacks before and plenty time remained.  It was a bit more worrying when Paisley scored again early in the second, but then Caps started to find their form and scored two within a minute.  Paisley took the lead back out to two, but the best goal of the night reduced it to one, and when the equaliser came it was comedy gold.  A harmless Caps shot looked to be well wide of the target until a Pirates defenceman stuck out his boot and deflected the puck into his own net.  This script writer has class.  Caps ended the period with a late goal to take the lead for the first time.

One more early in the third looked to have the match under control and it seemed that that would be that.  Paisley disagreed and came back strongly enough to equalise half way through the period.  The final ten minutes swung back and forth.  Paisley dominated for a while and were unlucky with a shot that pinged off the pipes.  With just over three minutes left on the clock a penalty against Caps reduced them to four men and survival tactics, with the positions being reversed for the final fifty nine seconds.  Edinburgh came close, but there were no more goals and a draw seemed like a fair result.  Even if it may have ended those title hopes.

Match Impressions - Edinburgh Capitals vs Nottingham Panthers

Edinburgh, the Jekyll and Hyde city.  Stevenson would have loved this season's Caps team because you're never quite sure which one will turn up.  Or even if they'll undergo a personality shift during a match.  No wonder we compare being a Capitals fan to riding the rollercoaster.

If you don't know anything about British ice hockey then maybe a bit of context will help.  Edinburgh are one of ten teams in the EIHL, the top level UK hockey league.  Since mid season there has been a clear split between the top five teams, who have been battling for the title, and the rest.  Surprise, surprise, that 'rest' is mostly the teams who don't have the income that those at the top enjoy.  But they still have something to play for.  At the end of the season the top eight teams go into the playoffs, and qualifying for that is a big achievement for a team like the Capitals.

At present they lie ninth, in a tight battle with the three clubs ahead of them, but well clear of Dundee at the bottom.  To qualify they really need to be beating others in that 'rest' group, and sneaking what points they can in games against top teams.  Last weekend they did just that, winning in Belfast (top team) for the first time in years, and then taking the points against Hull (rest) at home.  And this weekend?

It's that split personality, although, to be fair, having a number of players on the injury list hasn't helped.  On Saturday they lost heavily to another of the 'rest' teams, Fife.  Could they make amends at home against one of the big money sides, Nottingham?

It never really looked very likely.  They did well to hold the Panthers to just a single goal in the first period, but things went out of control in the second and the English team had us 4-1 down and with seemingly little hope left.  And then there was that personality change again, and in the final twenty minutes it was a different team that showed up.  They showed far more fire and imagination and outscored Nottingham by two goals to one.  For a final score of 3-5, and a pointless weekend.  It's puzzling to watch a team you know can play much better look so much at sea.  Maybe they need Jekyll's potion?