my winnipeg

I just finished watching Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg. Usually I don't watch movies, but we just had 15cm of snow, it's -18C with a windchill of -29. Typical January.
Watching this movie brought about everything (most) Winnipegers love, depending on their age. Nostalgia. Canada in itself, is very young, Winnipeg, younger. We constantly tell each other stories, since most of us (at least my age) are just about third generation. So this country and city, is still a bit new and we wonder about our mother countries. But I digress.
Since Winnipeg has a vast amount of temperatures on any given day (it was -2C yesterday and today, as I said, -29C). This time of year, end of January/early February, is the coldest. While end of July/early August, is the hottest, with temps peaking out at +30 and rain rain rain. (flood anyone?).
Ok, so I just finished this movie. It took awhile for me to get into it. I don't remember the last time I saw a documentary. Thankfully it was about Winnipeg (although I'm unthankful about the +14 parts, seriously Guy! I want a clean movie!).
Winnipegers, love to be nostalgic, at least the ones I know. We talk about Eatons vs the Bay as if it was sibling rivalry for years and years. My mom's family only shopped at Eatons. Although (gasp) my mom was the Bay teen fashion consultant for awhile. Seriously, I'm not making this up. Her photo was in their window. I still remember dreamy Eatons, the escalators, the fifth floor restuarant (my granny would buy me a hot dog and small Coke.. and then when I grew up my mom, would buy me a hot turkey sandwhich), the seventh floor furniture (where I'd dream of my house one day), the big large washrooms (where I lost my Goodnight Care Bear.. he was found thankfully), and the parking lot that you'd go round and round. Anyways we tore it down in 2002. Next.
Guy also talks about the Winnipeg Arena.. the old Barn! I grew up watching NHL games on TV at my granparents, rarely going to see a Jets game in person, till I turned teenager, and got seasons tickets. Alas the Jets died in 1996. But I still remember the smell of the ice, the smell of the popcorn, the blue and red seats, the nose bleed section. It had awful accoustics and a large painting of the queen. And I mean large! We tore it down as well (closed in 2004, gone in 2006). The NHL died with no promises of ever being resurrected until...
Winnipeg suddenly decided to resurrect the dead dream of an NHL team (at least that's what the tax payers hoped or tried to make sense of this all). So just as we tore down our 50 year old cement barn, we built a new glass barn where we had demo'd Eatons. Hm. Winnipeg you are cruel in some ways.

After watching the movie, I loved Winnipeg even more. (minus the bizarre scenes). Here's a good blog post from Joanne Hatherly about the movie and Winnipeg:

"Everyone dreams of escaping it.

If I started running away from home at the age of three, who is to say that I wasn't trying to escape? Or that everyone else wasn't/isn't thinking of escaping?

In fact: Maddin has stumbled on an enduring, un-mined piece of Canadiana and it is this - It is a cog in Canada's cultural wheel that Winnipeggers dream of getting out of their city. Another cog is that everyone, especially Winnipeggers, want to some day live in Victoria.

Once escaping Winnipeg, everyone dreams of going back.

Yes. Here's why:

Prairie friendliness. "Friendly Manitoba" is not just a slogan on the license plates.

Seasons: Once you've grown up in a place like Winnipeg, for all your life you will know the smell of winter coming (fresh, arctic air drifts in one morning), and the incredible sense of euphoria that overtakes everyone on the day the light scent of the advancing spring wafts in. There aren't many places where you'll see such community-wide joy.

There's the gentle muffled sounds of a city covered with snow. It's as if the whole world is walking and wheeling in fuzzy socks.

The way the snow squeaks beneath your boots.

Mountains make a fine view, that is true, but in Winnipeg, the horizon is a mountain range of clouds that change everyday. Booming thunder, lightning storms so amazing people turn off their tv sets just to watch the sky sizzle.

Summer heat that drives residents who can't afford air conditioning to sleep in their basements.

And Winnipeggers take some pride in living in such a harsh climate. Not everybody can do it, and when they travel to foreign lands, people ask them about the snow, our wonderful, mythological snow, and they're amazed that we can live in it.

Winter is not really 8 months long, but we tell everyone that just to keep the house prices down, so that our kids can afford to build equity there."