Polytechnique: Denis Villeneuve’s retelling of the 1989 Montreal Massacre has induced widespread debate and controversy. While critics are united in their praise of his cinematic skills, which Le Devoir’s Ève Langevin calls ‘extraordinary,’ she complains that the director ‘had lost sight of the enormity’ of the event. The film fails to ‘say anything profound about this horrific event,’ agrees Brendan Kelly at the Montreal Gazette. But Nathalie Petrowski at La Presse counters that Polytechnique is rare in Quebec cinema in that it ‘does not tell us what to think, it invites us to draw our own conclusions.’ She aptly sums up Polytechnique as a ‘terrible beautiful film.’

Soul: VisionTV’s new family drama starring R&B singer Keshia Chanté is getting thumbs up from critics such as The Globe and Mail’s John Doyle, who calls Soul ‘pleasant and engaging,’ while Bill Harris of Sun Media notes it’s ‘surprisingly gritty.’ Lynn Saxberg at the National Post says the story of a young gospel singer poised for stardom is ‘compelling,’ and praises Soul’s music as one of its ‘best features.’

Know Your Mushrooms: The quirky documentary about the mysterious fungi was a hit at Toronto’s Royal theater and is poised to expand, likely helped by positive reviews from critics, equally intrigued as they are charmed by Ron Mann’s latest. He has ‘the knack of generating fascination where none seemed to exist,’ writes The Globe and Mail’s Rick Groen, while Toronto Star critic Peter Howell praises Mann’s enthusiasm as ‘infectious.’ The Toronto filmmaker puts the ”fun’ in fungus,’ declares Chris Knight at the National Post. Mann’s opus has been picked as only one of three Canadian films to screen at the SXSW festival.

~ Compiled by Marise Strauss