Yours, Al

Al Purdy is one of Canada's best known and most admired poets. He passed on a few years ago so I'm glad that his work can be discovered by others through this film. For much of the film he is portrayed by Gordon Pinsent who gets Purdy's distinctive voice and persona exactly right. I was lucky enough to have been present at two poetry readings of Al Purdy's in the last years of his life and Mr. Pinsent was spot on as far a I could tell. Through letters, and the poems he is now famous for, we get an honest feeling for the man's work and life. This has the atmosphere of a documentary or a one man play. It felt intimate and was highly enjoyable.