JUNIOR

The world of junior hockey seems more and more obsessed with competition, and the NFB production Junior gives us a fascinating behind-the-scenes at this side of our national sport. Taking in one complete season with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Junior reveals the daily lives of managers and players on this Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team. Admired and treated like professionals, junior hockey players are already stars whose lives have very little margin of error. They are also teenagers as young as 16, who are already gambling with their future. Trainers, shareholders, agents, scouts and parents: all eyes are fixed on these elite young players, even though only a tiny number will succeed in playing at the highest level. By intercutting evocative images and making effective symbolic links, Junior offers a real-life portrait of an environment that engenders deep emotions.