2 0 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 11, 2002 28 The 1900s, chronicled in a room of The Century Hotel' Director David Weaver's latest film, Cen tury Hotel , is a sweeping tale of love, betray al, passion, and tragedy. It is an epic film about one hotel room that, over the course of a century, sees every kind of human drama. W eaver takes numerous characters, diverse themes, some of Canada's finest actors, and Room 720 in an anonymous hotel in Toronto and creates a history of our cul ture and our country told through seven sep arate stories over the course o f seven decades. These complex and emotional sto ries are interwoven, mirroring and contrast ing one another until they create a seamless portrait of human relationships as the centu ry progresses. The first story to be told in Room 720 is entitled Jazz Age and is set in the 1920s, a time o f prosperity, liberation and frivolity immortalized by images of flappers dancing the Charleston, with the likes o f Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong fuelling the jazz movement. The Zeigfield Follies, actresses Louise Brooks and Greta Garbo, and magician Harry Houdini signaled a new era of entertainment, while Henry Ford made millions with his Model T. In Canada, Mackenzie King's Liberal Party brings pros perity to the masses, Canadian National Rail ways is formed, and Agnes Macphail becomes the first woman elected to Parlia ment. Chinese Bride , the second story, is set in the early 1930s at the peak of the Great Depression. Black Tuesday wiped out investors leaving millions of people unemployed while wages decreased by as much as 60%. President Roosevelt introduced his "New Deal" platform and in Canada the Bennett Conservative government reluctant ly followed suit. The Dionne quintuplets were bom, and in 1935, relief camps were introduced to cope with the problem of unemployed men. Reunion is set in the summer of 1945 when young men returned home from the war to find the world they left behind had changed dramatically. Canadians in Hong Kong were taken prisoners when the city fell to Japan, and in retaliation 22,000 Japanese Canadians were placed in internment camps. French and English Canada were deeply divided on the question of conscription, and the defection of Igor Gouzenko from the Soviet Union revealed the exis tence of a Soviet spy network in our country. The story o f The Suitcase takes place during the 1950s, which saw the establishment of an afflu ent middle-class. It also marked the beginning of the "cold war" and renewed tension between east and west, despite the growth of world organizations such as the United Nations. Louis St. Lau rent's Liberal government estab lished the National Library in Ottawa in an attempt to curb what the Massey Royal Commission report dubbed, "America's influ ence on Canada's culture." The Canadian Broadcasting Corpora tion began television program- Joe Goulart ming on a part-time basis, and swimmer Marilyn Bell was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario. Nightfly, the fifth story in the Century Hotel , reflects a decade of radical change: the 1960s. Impassioned Canadians supported anti-apartheid efforts, the anti-war move ment, and women's rights. In Quebec, the FLQ separatist group claimed responsibility for terrorist activities. In 1966 the Munsinger affair, in which the associate Minister of National Defence had a liaison with a Ger man divorcee, further contributes to public distrust of government institutions. The 1980s with its fluctuating affluence and unabashed decadence are revealed in X(See 'C e n tu ry' on pag e 21) MARIG0LD FINE LINENS B a m f ie l d 346 Lakeshore Road East Oakville, ON 905.842.5471 'Oakvtllc 4 > n u M ]0 . c C o n cert Series C o n c ert Series iS c ru 'S |T *« V l !».3 j Sugar Jones Monday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets $34.99 Canadian Pop sensationsfrom the hit show "Popstars"in concertfor one night only!Now making waves on Canadian Pop charts with hits like " Days Like That", * How Much Longer and more! The M em ory of W ater by Shelagh Stevenson Richard Wood & Danu Wednesday, January 30 at 8:00 p.m. An evening w ith one fiddling sensation w ith stunning show manship combined w ith a group o f lads from Ireland, leaving you ling like a M aritimer! January 17-19 & 25-26 Often funny, sometimes shocking and always thought-proviking " n m w ,,h ef®rgy»m9&3 For Tickets call (905) 815-2021 w w w .o c4pa.com By Affirmative Communications C o m f o r t . Q u a l it y . V a l u e . Visit the box office, 130 Navy St. (at Lakeshore) Mon. to Fri., noon - 5 p.m., Sat. 2 - 5 p.m. " Trade-mark o f CIBC.Fees w ill apply on withdrawals at non-CIBC ABMs.