Heart of Gold

Texas, 1969. Michael infuriates girlfriend Mary-Bob by accepting the draft to serve in Vietnam. But after a violent incident at boot camp, he deserts and escapes over the border to British Columbia. Here he finds shelter with a group of Russian pacifists, the Doukhobors. Meanwhile back in the US, Mary-Bob becomes a militant anti-war activist…

An original screenplay by director Patricia Gruben (who recently led our Film Studies series on literary adaptation), Heart of Gold makes a fascinating companion piece to Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada. Both films reflect on the late 60s when so many Americans sought refuge from the Vietnam war by coming north of the border. Making the most of its austere budget, the film examines an entire epoch by dramatizing the ethical quandaries of two young people faced with choices that will define their lives.

Mar 29, 1:45 pm screening: Q&A with director Patricia Gruben + presentation by Dr. Lara Campbell, Historian and Gender Studies Professor, SFU

Mar 29, 5:30 pm screening: Q&A with director Patricia Gruben

Dr. Lara Campbell is a historian and gender studies professor at SFU, working on a research project called Heroes, Havens, Cowards: Gender and the Politics of Vietnam Antiwar Resistance.