off topic -- cinema ... but kind of about hockey

When the Canes have a few days off, that's when I try to get my Netflix queue moving along. In the past couple of days, I've done just that by watching A History of Violence, Gerry (at the recommendation of my friend Bill, who is a frequent commenter here) and Keane. All three fall into that "psychological drama" category where things aren't what they seem and the lead character doesn't even know who he is. The last two were über-independent and made on low budgets. I'm not here to talk about that, though.

After watching A History of Violence, I checked out all the dvd extras. There was a featurette called "The unmaking of scene 44" that was about a deleted scene. At the end of that featurette, there was the hockey stuff.

Apparently, Viggo Mortensen, who is the star of HOV is a Canadiens fan. They shot most of that film in Toronto, and during the filming, Mortensen wore a Montréal Canadiens sweater on the set. Of course this is something you just don't do. Given that some of the crew were Toronto natives, they weren't too happy. Towards the end, some of the crew pitched in and bought him a Maple Leafs sweater with the name "Violence" and the number 04 on the back. Here's the thing: He put it on.

Everyone knows that a real Canadiens fan would never don the blue and white of the hated Leafs. Nor would he have such an idea put in his head. It wasn't like he grudgingly slipped it on just so they could have their giggles, either. He was real quick to put it on.

I couldn't help but think of that children's story "The Hockey Sweater" and the animated short film adaptation of it by the National Film Board of Canada.

Click here to watch the NFB short film of "The Sweater". It's 10 minutes, and in English (mostly). If you've never seen this short film, you really have to do so. Immediately.

Maybe, with all his Lord of the Rings money, Viggo Mortensen bought "100 million moths to eat up (his) Toronto Maple Leafs sweater."

Aside from the last line -- a classic -- my favorite bit from "The Sweater":

Mother: It's not what you put on your back that matters. It's what you put inside your head.

Roch: Never make me put in my head to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater!