Today I am posting about my experience with the movie Goin’ Down the Road.

Part 1 on New Waterford Girl is here: https://capebreton.lokol.me/cape-breton-movies-part-1-introducing-new-waterford-glace-bay

Part 2 on My Bloody Valentine is here: https://capebreton.lokol.me/cape-breton-movies-p2-sydney-mines-is-an-international-sensation

Part 3 on Johnny Belinda is here: https://capebreton.lokol.me/cape-breton-movies-p3-johnny-belinda-and-small-town-mentality

Part 4 on The Bay Boy is here: https://capebreton.lokol.me/cape-breton-movies-p4-the-bay-boy-for-most-canadian-movie

Part 5 on Marion Bridge is here: https://capebreton.lokol.me/cape-breton-movies-p5-marion-bridge-and-the-pleasure-it-brings
This list that follows is intended to cover all feature films related to Cape Breton. I have attempted to include movies that can tell a little of the story of Cape Breton and have purposefully left out movies that just used Cape Breton as a set for some other place (Squanto, Book of Negroes).

- New Waterford Girl (Part 1)
- My Bloody Valentine (Part 2)
- Johnny Belinda (Part 3)
-  The Bay Boy (Part 4)
- Marion Bridge (Part 5)
- Goin’ Down the Road (Part 6)
- Margaret’s Museum (at the library)
-Down the Road Again (at library)
- Sealed Cargo (have it)
-The Legend of the Psychotic Forest Ranger (looking for it)
- Candy Mountain (bits and pieces on YouTube)
- Song Spinner (can’t find)
- The Third Walker (looking)
- Something About Love (1988) (looking)
- The Widow of St. Pierre (at library)

The movie….

Goin’ Down the Road (1970) directed by Donald Shebib

A Canadian classic, this movie focuses on two young Cape Breton men who travel to Toronto to start a new life. It is a story of success and failure, the contribution that the big city can have to destroying dreams, and a bond between friends that is able to persevere in good times and in bad. 

Pete (played by Doug McGrath) has big dreams of a better life in Toronto and convinces Joey (Paul Bradley) to leave Cape Breton, luring him with “guaranteed jobs”, a place to stay with relatives, and the promise of adventure: “Listen Joey, it’s going to be so different. There you can get all kinds of jobs. Not just sweat and dirt all the time. And the places you go. We’re going to hit some nice spots. Have us some good times. No more sitting in some restaurant all night or driving up and down Main St. looking for something new that damned well ain’t there. Oh, Joey, there’s going to be so much there we won’t know where to begin”.

Pete’s persuasiveness pays off and he manages to get Joey, who is much more satisfied living a simple life, to reluctantly follow him to Ontario. And, so, the two take off in Joey’s beat up old Chevy convertible with My Nova Scotia Home painted on the side.
In Toronto, however, things don’t turn out as planned. When Pete’s Aunt and Uncle won’t answer the door as the young Cape Bretoners arrive, it is a reflection of what they can expect in Toronto. “They have been knocking for five minutes. Anyone with common sense would have stopped long ago.”

Without a place to stay, Joey and Pete arrive at the Salvation Army, where they search for work in the local paper. While Pete glazes over as he scans flashy jobs in sales and advertising, Joey’s eye catches an ad for a 1968 Plymouth with five bucket seats.
The movie continues to demonstrate the contrast between Pete and Joey. Joey finds a job right away in a bottle factory and Pete somewhat reluctantly joins him. Although Pete is working, he never seems satisfied and experiences the sobering reality of not being able to better his position without education. Joey settles down in a relationship and eventually marries, while Pete’s focus is on pursuing the best that Toronto has to offer.

Big city life doesn’t get much better for the two: Joey and Pete get laid off from the bottle factory, struggle with food and shelter, and have to find odd jobs to survive. Continuing to be faced with hard times, in the climax of the movie, the two flee a store after stealing groceries and assaulting one of the employees. With the police on their tail, they leave their life in Toronto and travel out west.
There is something special and captivating about this older style of film making that has gotten lost over the years. For me, Goin’ Down the Road is an example of a film that is able to capture the moment with the actors, as opposed to inundating viewers with special effects, overly complicated plot lines, or eye candy. The camera follows the journey of the two as they look for good times, and tries to find what is happening in the city that has swallowed them up. The movie manages to include both times of pure loneliness and times of pure joy, and provides an interesting snapshot of humanity as it looked in Toronto.

You may be interested to know that the score for this movie, arranged by Bruce Cockburn, is heartwarming, with wonderful music and lyrics that fit beautifully within the scenes.

What were my thoughts about Cape Breton from watching this: This movie brings up thoughts about the lure that Fort McMurray must have for Cape Bretoners. Although there are valid reasons for seeking something better, many Cape Bretoners also realize that the better life and happiness aren’t always out there beyond the island. I know it’s cliché, but tou make your own happiness, regardless of where you are from or where you are at. Cape Breton is special and there are lots of opportunities across the island.

 My recommendation: Watch this! I found a link to the full movie for free here:https://archive.org/details/GoingDownTheRoadCanadaFilm#

Chris Bellemore is a blogger from Ontario that moved to Cape Breton Island and is logging his experiences in this strange and wonderful place.

My personal marketing space:
https://www.facebook.com/chris.bellemore