Voulez Vous Pleurez Avec Moi?

Just got back from Montreal, and:

On a downtown walking tour (self-guided, not led by one of those fanny-pack wearing Masters students) I came across a sight so marvelous, so inspiring, I had to make mention.

Big movie theaters like we have here - 10, 12 screen multiplexes with overpriced concessions and weird space-pod motifs...were screening movies I'd never heard of. Massive, floor to ceiling posters, banners, die-cut advertisements...all for a bunch of French movies I couldn't even pronounce.

Other than Cars, there was not a single American Blockbuster on the schedule. I was confused at first, then hopeful, then angry. Angry because the anglophones cannot follow suit.

It's obvious that these films have some money behind them - and it's obvious that people will go to see homegrown Canadian features.

It's also painfully obvious that the French have one-upped us. But the MOST painful part is having to admit it.