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Victoria Day is a 2009 Canadian indie-film, directed by award-winning writer and film-maker, David Bezmozgis. It was produced by Markham Street Films. The film stars Mark Rendall in the lead role, as well as Holly Deveaux, Sergiy Kotelenets, Nataliya Alyexeyenko, John Mavrogiannis, and Scott Beaudin.

Plot
The film's story takes place the week preceding the Victoria Day long weekend in Toronto, the year of 1988. The story line depicts the weeklong journey of a sixteen year old ordinary teenage boy, Ben Spektor (Mark Rendall), and the conspiring events that sequence to a coming of age story.

The film begins on Sunday May 19, 1988. The Victoria Day weekend is fast approaching, initiating the coming end of another high school year. The attention of characters first seems to rest on the Stanley Cup finals, which are in play in Boston with Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers facing the Boston Bruins. Since Ben Spektor's life is mostly centered on hockey, he is portrayed as the star player of his Toronto Red Wings minor hockey league team, resembling the skills of a young Gretzky throughout the film's opening scenes. However, a life altering event changes the course of Ben's path as he attends the Bob Dylan concert alongside his juvenile close friends: Sammy (John Mavro) and Noah (Scott Beaudin). While there, Ben spots Jordan Chapman (Mitchell Amaral), his classmate, hockey team-mate, and tormentor, taking a part of what appears to be a routine drug deal. Being short of five dollars to purchase the drugs, Jordan provokes Ben into reluctantly spotting him the remainder. This critical affair seemed hardly significant to Ben at the time— he could not have foreshadowed the life altering consequences this event would have on his future.

As the days pass, Jordan's whereabouts are a mystery, and the city police organize a search party that is ultimately fruitless. With a guilty conscience and the fear of Jordan's disappearance, the days drag on for Ben. However, the sequence of events initiate a budding romance for Ben and Jordan's fifteen-year-old sister, Cayla (Holly Deveaux). From love and romance, to the future of Ben's hockey career, Ben's adolescent life appears to be promising. Yet, the continuous discomfort of his teammate's disappearance preoccupies Ben's life, drastically altering the determined path of his promising future.

Main Protagonist

 * Mark Rendall as Ben Spektor, a grade 11 student attending Newtonbrook Secondary School. At first, his interests mainly consist of hockey, his passion for Bob Dylan, and his high school crush on Cayla Chapman. Early on in the film, Ben is indirectly involved with the disappearance of Jordan Chapman which triggers a change in his perception of his life. The disappearance has noticeable effects upon Ben's emotional and mental state which in turn impacts his behavior and hockey performance. Before the disappearance, Ben plays hockey well, scoring two goals and one assist in the beginning of the film, however after his team-mate goes missing, Ben looses motivation and is seen being tripped by an opposing team player, watching as the action rushes away from him. Similarly, Ben is emotionally trapped in the incident as though he is stuck in a particular passage of time while mostly everyone else moves on with their lives. The majority of Ben's discomfort can be attributed to the disconnection he finds with the reactions of his team-mates, friends, and family to the reality of the incident. Ben is emotionally isolated from his community when he sees that the disappearance does not have the same effect upon others as it does on him, such as Ben's offence to the blasé manner when Sammy refers to Jordan as the "dead guy".


 * While for the most part, everybody carries on as normal, Ben is torn between going forward with his life and remaining tied to Jordan's disappearance. Ben attempts to surpass his sorrow by going on a date with Melanie, but cannot make an emotional connection with her as she is untouched by the events that have recently displaced his life. Instead, Ben seeks an emotional connection with Cayla, seeing as she is more personally affected by her brother's disappearance. While visiting Cayla's house, Ben finally takes the opportunity to tell the Chapmans the detail that he has been omitting from the majority of his community. In spite of his attempts, Ben is yet again rebutted from having closure as Cayla's father unexpectedly orders him out of the house. At home, Ben is confronted by his parents in addition to the overwhelming pressures from his community, to move on from this event. Since he is still incapable of move on, Ben tries to cope with the pressure by engaging in mindless frivolities with Sammy and Noah, leading to the physical impairment that further juts Ben from moving on with life.


 * Mark Rendall speaks in an interview, that he embodied some of the director and writer, David Bezmozgis' traits in order to accurately portray the character as the writer/director intended. Mark Rendall also notes that he has had a one to two year gap, without a leading role before this movie.

Supporting Characters

 * Sergiy Kotelenets as Yuri Spektor, the father of Ben Spektor. Yuri works as a personal masseuse, a job that does not satisfy him nor does he enjoy it very much. Along with his wife Mila, Ben's parents are Russian immigrants to Canada. Yuri still upholds a lot of his Russian identity and maintains his cultural ties to the his native country, the Soviet Union, as demonstrated in the beginning of the film, when Yuri listens to Russian tapes while driving in his car. Yuri also has a lot of pride in Ben's hockey abilities and trusts Ben to make the right decisions when it comes to Ben's behavior. However as the film progresses, Yuri and Mila both express their distaste for their son's seemingly abrupt change in attitude and distance from them. Nevertheless, subsequent to Ben's lost chances at competing in the Toronto Red Wing finals, Yuri is able to accept his son's situation and move on.
 * Nataliya Alyexeyenko as Mila Spektor, the mother of Ben Spektor. Unlike Yuri, who is willing to overlook the troubles, Mila notices the beginnings of a negative change in Ben and finally is able to pressure Yuri into having a confrontational discussion with their son after his night out.
 * Mitchell Amaral as Jordan Chapman, one of Ben Spektor's peers and former childhood friend, who disappears after a Bob Dylan concert.
 * Holly Deveaux as Cayla Chapman, the sister of Jordan Chapman and love interest for Ben Spektor. Despite her young age, Cayla portrays a mature composure and furthermore is protective of her father, striving to eliminate any attempts of false hope about her brother's return.
 * John Mavro as Sammy Balaban, one of Ben Spektor's friends. Between Sammy and Noah, Sammy is the more exuberant friend. He is more out-going and more willing to make a fool of himself than Noah. Sammy also urges Ben Spektor to start actively pursuing his love interest, Cayla Chapman. When his efforts to prop Ben into action failed, Sammy begins to start setting up situations to allow Ben to interact with Cayla. A clear example is shown in the film when Sammy invites Cayla to a party, purposely breaking her bike as a means of depicting Ben to be a charming hero when he fixes Cayla's bike.


 * In additionally, Sammy places emphasis on being unique, which would explain his frustration at Noah's attempts to mimic his behavior and dress style. Sammy's desire to stand apart from the norm, and his willingness to act bizarre, emphasize his values on individuality.


 * In an interview, it is revealed that Victoria Day is John Mavro's first role in a feature film.
 * John Mavro says that David Bezmozgis approached him for a role in this film after seeing Mavro perform at two Earl Haig performances.


 * Scott Beaudin as Noah Hartsman, one of Ben Spektor's friends. Noah is Ben's less rambunctious friend. In opposition to Sammy, Noah is portrayed as a more rational character. In the film, Noah is seen to be bargaining the fireworks' price with a calm attitude, despite the vendor's temper getting increasingly more irritated. Mila also notes that Noah would make a very good lawyer in the future. Furthermore, later on in the film before the trio's firework fight, Noah complains that the game's rules are too disorganized.
 * Greta Onieogou as Sara, Ben Spektor's co-host of Newtonbrook Secondary School's morning announcements, NSFM. Even though she is a minor character in the film, Sara is seen to have a light camaraderie with Ben. She also encourages Ben to go out with her friend, Melanie.
 * Melanie Leishman as Melanie, Sara's friend whose first appearance is at the party. After her date with Ben, Melanie invites him into her home, provocatively initiating initiates physical intimacy in which Ben reciprocates.
 * Duane Murray as Coach Ken, the coach of the Toronto Red Wings.
 * Jeff Pustil as Jerry Chapman, the father of Jordan and Cayla. Before the disappearance, Jerry appears to be a very active in his fatherly roles; he is portrayed to be supportive and punctual in picking up Jordan from hockey practice. Jerry also seems to hold Ben to a higher esteem than Jordan, but never fully feels disappointed with Jordan until Ben informs him of Jordan's drug deal prior to the concert. Jerry's mannerly order disintegrates as he retreats from the outside world, awaiting news about Jordan in hopes of his reappearance.
 * Scotty Cook as Tim Wilson.
 * Brendan Price as Brad McCoulough.

Autonomy and Responsibility
A strong theme in David Bezmozgis' film, Victoria Day, is that of maturation—the coming of age from an adolescent to an adult. Through the beginning of the film, Ben Spector is completely dedicated to his hockey team, refusing to miss hockey practise despite the incentive that his crush, Jordan's sister Cayla, would be attending. Ben's success as a star player on his Toronto Red Wings hockey team, is enthusiastically supported by Yuri Spektor, Ben's father who encourages Ben to watch Wayne Gretzky's games in hopes his son will pursue his promising hockey career.

Ben's teenage life appears to be inconsistent. He seems to be at an age stuck between adulthood and the joys of childhood. While he attempts to maturely please his father and pursue hockey, Ben, alongside his reckless friends Noah and Sammy, engage in immature behaviours. A couple of days before Victoria Day, Ben and his friends buy fireworks from a peculiar man illegally selling them on the side of the road, after which the boys drive off firing them at the man from which they were bought. This immature act of using fireworks in the means of resembling firearms was clearly not well thought through and foreshadowed the danger and negative outcome to follow. Ben shows an additional lack of maturity when he gives a fellow teammate, Jordan Chapman, five dollars to buy drugs with the intent of getting Jordan to leave him alone.

As the story progresses, Ben is able to realize that he had made the wrong decision by providing Jordan with the money he needed for the drugs. As a form of atonement, he volunteers to join the search parties looking for Cayla's brother. Eventually, Ben confesses to Jordan's father that he had given Jordan the money. The confession furthermore enables Ben with the confidence to confront his own father about his discomfort playing hockey while a member of his team is missing. Through the finale of the film, Ben's maturity is evidently witnessed. Ben is able to decline Cayla's seductive advances, acknowledging her emotional vulnerability due to her brothers disappearance shown through his mature outlook on the situation and his actions.

Love in Parental Relationships
Love is another central theme in the film Victoria Day. Although not effectively expressed, Ben Spektor’s immigrant mother and father, care deeply for their son and wish for him to prosper in ways that they themselves could not. This affection is shown when Yuri, Ben father, becomes infuriated as Ben confronts his discomfort in playing hockey while his team-mate is missing. Through his frustration, Yuri explains that he himself, had missed an opportunity for a soccer scholarship when he was Ben's age. His opportunities were squandered by his greater interest in pursuing friendships, drugs and alcohol which leads Yuri to earn a mere living as a masseuse. Due to his genuine care and love for his son, it is understandable that Yuri does not want his son to cast aside the opportunities he did as a youth. Although Ben does not initially comprehend his parents intentions, Yuri is willing to risk his son's feelings towards him, as a loving and supportive father, to ensure the best for Ben.

In addition, Mr. Chapman is distraught when he discovers that his son is missing. He refuses to sleep in the comfort of his own bed in hopes that he will be the first to see his son is home. As stated by his peers and his own sister in the film, Jordan was 'a jerk toward everyone.' Once, when Jordan attended a concert, he did not return home for three days. Despite his troublesome behaviour, Jordan's family put a tremendous amount of effort into organizing volunteer search parties in an attempt to find the missing family member. Before they began, Mr. Chapman, on the verge of tears, ensures that everyone who participated in the search knew how thankful he was for their time. Furthermore, in the final scene of the film, Cayla is seen crying as the hockey game forces her to remember Jordan, confronting the reality that her brother may never be seen again.

Romantic Love
The theme of love is not solely confined to familial relationships; it is also seen as the relationship between Ben Spektor and Cayla Chapman intensifies. At first, it seems that the relationship consists of nothing more than Ben's infatuation with the girl. He is often teased by his friends for "stalking" Cayla, whilst evidently catching the attention of his other female peers, namely a girl named Melanie, with whom Ben goes on a date with to curb his feelings for Cayla. However, the date seems to intensify Ben's feelings for Cayla. When Ben is given the perfect opportunity to take advantage of Cayla's weak emotional state, he declines her advances— acting as a source of comfort. This demonstration of affection portrays the true depth of his love for Cayla as opposed to a fleeting attraction.

Conflicting Emotions
Ben Spektor is continually faced with decisions based on whether or not he should exert the effort to perform a task. These decisions are difficult in the sense that each is driven into consideration by conflicting interests. For example, despite his dislike of Jordan Chapman, Ben chooses to join the search to get to know Jordan's sister better seeing as he has had a crush on her for quite some time and never taken the initiative to talk to her. However, Ben's own guilt for providing Jordan with the loan for drugs was undoubtedly a contributing factor.

Similarly, Ben continues to play hockey although he feels that it is morally unjust to continue the games. To Ben, it seems as though the team's commitment to Jordan is lost because he has disappeared and as a result, he no longer attends hockey practices or games. On the other hand, if Ben were to resign from playing, he would not only forsake his commitment to the rest of the team, but he would disappoint his father.

Seeing as though Cayla's actions while visiting Ben were met with an immediate response on his part, there is no question as to whether or not Ben enjoyed her advances. This scene emphasized the maturity Ben had acquired in dealing with the events of the preceding the Victoria Day weekend. Prior to his maturing transformation, Ben surrendered the money to make Jordan stop being a nuisance whereas, with Cayla, he is able to determine that the current course of action would not be the best by considering the future consequences of his actions. These, in turn, proved more influential than the desire to continue his actions, even though the desire had remained.

Critical Response
Victoria Day is a mixture between literary fiction and David Bezmozgis' personal life. His stories are similar to his real-life experiences and often depict the typical challenges of Jewish family immigrants. Bezmozgis is the author of the acclaimed book 'Natasha and Other Stories,' which is why it is not surprising that Victoria Day, appears to be a combination of Bezmozgis' stories.

A lot of suburban Toronto is depicted in the film, including city landmarks like Ontario Place. Since the film is set in Canada and named after a Canadian public holiday, there are definite illustrations of the life of a teenage boy in Canada. Regardless of these distinct references, Bezmozgis states, " I didn't set out to make a film that is distinctly Canadian, I set out to make a movie that reflected my experience of growing up, and it just happened to be in Toronto. It's an experience that could have happened for the most part in Chicago, or New York, Boston or Los Angeles. It happened to take place in Toronto, so there are elements that are specific to Toronto, but the story itself is like any teenage story in North America."

Multiple critics of the film have noted that Bezmozgis' lack of climax had contributed to its lower ratings. It seems like Bezmozgis does not holistically communicate the evolution of a teenager’s life, which may fail to fully illustrate the emotions of a typical North American teenager. However, one can argue that Bezmozgis intended to conclude the film this way, as a means of emphasizing that teenagers are uncertain, before they enter their adult lives.

Finally, the film was featured at the 2009 Sundance film festival, in the World Dramatic Competition category. "In what amounts to a record, the movie was picked up faster for Sundance than any other Canadian film in history - enough to the point that the press kit and other promotional material had to be hastily assembled."

Trivia

 * 1) At the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Victoria Day was one of the sixteen drama entries selected from a total of 1, 012.
 * 2) Some of the film's content, such as growing up as an immigrant in Toronto and playing hockey, is based on the personal experiences of David Bezmozgis.
 * 3) The Toronto Red Wings' jersey logo is the same as the Detroit Red Wings' logo, except the Toronto Red Wings' jersey also says Toronto underneath the winged wheel.
 * 4) Despite that the film Victoria Day was "created to reflect Bezmozgis' experience of growing up in Toronto, he denies that it is distinctly Canadian."
 * 5) "[Bezmozgis] also made a comedic short film, The Diamond Nose, which follows a Jewish boy seeking to get plastic surgery for his gigantic nose."
 * 6) A scene in the movie was filmed at the Ontario Place.
 * 7) Victoria Day was selected to be viewed at the Sundance Film Festival faster than any other Canadian film in history.