Dave ponders why this classy family flick hasn’t become a fixture of everyone’s childhood. Featuring a few quick words with writer-director Philip Spink!
“I think there’s a place for Pulp Fiction (1994),” remarked writer-director Philip Spink to The Province. “But there aren’t enough films about the triumph of the human spirit and family. I see a whole generation of filmmakers being seduced by sex and violence. That’s OK though. Let everyone go out and show shotguns, vampires, and bodily fluids, but leave everything else to me!” [1]
A bold admission from the Edmonton born filmmaker. At this point in the ‘90s it seemed that every up-and-coming director was set on doing some kind of Tarantino knock-off, so you have to applaud Spink’s one-eighty in the face of conformity – but then there’s little about him that screams acquiescence.
“Well, I was an artist first of all,” remembers the Canadian. “Then an illustrator, an art director, a storyboard artist, and eventually a commercials director. But I’ve always been an illustrator at heart, and I had a knack for writing. Indeed, the first scene of this film is my hand drawing the storyboard! So, while it was the beginning of a film career of sorts, it was also the start of my third career.”
“I wrote ONCE IN A BLUE MOON (1995) initially as more of a gritty – and biographical – examination of a blue-collar family, and the struggles of a child with artistic dreams. But soon the story evolved into what my memories are – a magic realist theatre.”
Once in a Blue Moon‘s script quickly caught the attention of producing partners Jane Charles and Sarah Duncan who were accompanying Spink on a location scout for a commercial.
“After Phil told me the story, the three of us had breakfast and we realised straight away that it was a great team,” Charles told The Vancouver Sun. “We decided to enter the New Views competition,” added Duncan. “We didn’t win, but we came quite close. However, Telefilm Canada liked the project so much that they agree to participate regardless.” [2]
Once in a Blue Moon is a misty-eyed suburban dream takes us back to 1967, where eleven year-old Peter Piper (Cody Serpa) is not having a particularly great time of it. He’s being mercilessly taunted by bullies, and his hair is at such a length that he’s frequently mistaken for a girl. Thankfully, Peter finds a degree of solace with Sam (Simon Baker), an indigenous boy that his parents are fostering, and they while away their evenings building a rocket that they’re adamant will transport them to the moon.
In his review, critic Peter Birnie called Once in a Blue Moon “one of the best-looking local efforts ever seen” before going on to suggest that “if you add any more art direction to this baby, it would take off like a Hallmark card” [3]. A backhanded compliment – but considering it was shot for a budget of barely $1million, Spink’s film is beautiful to look at. Its recreation of ’67 is impeccable, and its depiction of the kind of boyhood that many of us could have only dreamed of is lush, full of fantasy, whimsy, and endless aspirations.
Once in a Blue Moon‘s main flaw is a narrative that has propensity to be a series of unconnected juniority scrapes. They’re fun to watch, but you feel they detract a little from the crux of the storyline. Nevertheless, it would take a stony-hearted individual to wail on such a delightful adventure, and Peter and Sam’s friendship alone should be enough for most of the audience to eschew any overly critical tendencies. Sometimes all you need from a movie is for it to put a smile on your face and brighten your day. In that sense, Once in a Blue Moon doesn’t disappoint.
Nominated for a staggering eight Leo Awards [4], and winning the prize for its pitch-perfect musical score by Daryl Bennett and Jim Guttridge, Once in a Blue Moon premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews. Indeed, the reception on the festival circuit was so rapturous that distributor Malofilm were aghast when it was ignored on general release, so much so that it directly impacted the extent of the marketing campaign of their next film, the necrophilia-based Kissed (1996), despite – and I’m only guessing here – the markedly different demographic.
Box office failure often tarnishes a movie as a dud and has an undeniable knock-on effect to its long-term post-cinema reputation. That certainly seems to have been the case with Once in a Blue Moon, which has missed out on being the childhood rite of passage flick that it richly deserves to be.
[1] ‘Feel-good’ Philip Makes No Apology by Damian Inwood, The Province, 23rd October 1995.
[2] A Match Made in Heaven’s Door by Michele Marko, The Vancouver Sun, 28th April 1995.
[3] Moonglow Can Give You a Headache by Peter Birnie, The Vancouver Sun, 19th April 1996.
[4] An awards program that serves the British Columbia film and television industry.
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