The Sweater

The National Film Board of Canada has finally gone through their vaults and digitized a lot of their awesome animated shorts. Most of them were just impossible to view, and to have them so readily available is really a great treat.

My favourite has to be Sheldon Cohen's "The Sweater", based on the childhood story of Roch Carrier. I hadn't seen this since grade 5, and honestly I think it still holds up today. The story concerns a young boy in rural Quebec that plays hockey with all his friends, all of them donning the very same Maurice "Rocket" Richard Montreal Canadiens jersey. Soon, the guy's jersey becomes way too old and small so his moms goes through Eaton's (R.I.P.)catalogue and orders him a new one. What comes in the mail a few weeks later is not a red, white and blue Canadiens jersey, but a blue and white Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Mon dieu! His mother forces him to wear it, and he must deal with the fall-out.

The animation is just impeccable. The film elevates to a folk-art with it's caricatures and fluid transformations between people, places and things. Also, Roch's francophone accent is so beautiful.

This film is a national treasure, and YOU MUST WATCH IT HERE.