Friday, September 29, 2006
Indian Summer
We’ve all heard the one about ‘based on a true story’, but there really is a private camp named Camp Tamakwa in Algonquin Park and you can still go there:
Even more remarkable is the fact that most of the characters depicted here were real campers there as were many of the people who portrayed them. The ‘rigors’ of camp life are graphically illustrated—the smell of urine in the cabins that nothing can remove, the staffer who drops your luggage in the lake, the practical jokes, the cook who flicks her cigarette ash in the mashed potatoes, the morning bell, the moose that appears on cue—that last may be a mite fanciful. Can you imagine spending eight weeks there?
This is no church youth camp such as I attended. The owner is an ex-boxer who has a working ring set up on site, the campers have sail boats at their disposal, they arrive by water taxi in a 30 foot boat, the place is co-ed! It’s been there for 70 years. Summer camp is one of those experiences that everyone grouses about but fondly remembers. Despite all the “Big Chill” like resonances this movie captures the feeling of the summer camp experience, right down to the end credits which are back grounded by the singing of “Camp Bernarda”.
