''Malarek'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Roger Cardinal and released in 1988.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 135. Based on the memoirs of Canadian investigative journalist

Victor Malarek Victor Gregory Malarek (born 26 June 1948) is a Canadian journalist and author, known for his book ''Hey, Malarek!'' and his tenure as one of the hosts of CBC's '' The Fifth Estate'', as well as his depiction in the movie '' Target Number One'' ...

, the film stars

Elias Koteas Elias Koteas (; ; born March 11, 1961) is a Canadian actor who has performed in lead and supporting roles in numerous films and television series. He won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film '' Ararat'' (20 ...

as Malarek during his early career in journalism. The film's plot centres on Malarek, as a newly hired junior reporter in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, investigating unsafe and inhumane conditions in the province's juvenile detention system, interspersed with flashbacks to Malarek's own troubled youth when he spent some time in the very same system. The cast also includes Ross Hull as the young Malarek in the flashback scenes, as well as Kerrie Keane,

Al Waxman Albert Samuel Waxman, (March 2, 1935 – January 18, 2001) was a Canadian actor and director of over 1,000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series '' King of Kensington ...

, Daniel Pilon, Susan Glover,

Bruce Ramsay Bruce Ramsay (born December 31, 1966) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor. Career Ramsay's screen debut was opposite fellow Montrealer Elias Koteas in the film '' Malarek'' (1988). Ramsay and Koteas went on to appear in two other fi ...

, Vittorio Rossi,

Michael Sarrazin Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011) ...

and Walter Massey. The film premiered in limited engagement in December 1988, before going into wider commercial release in March 1989. The film received three

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominations at the

10th Genie Awards The 10th Genie Awards were held on March 22, 1989 to honour achievements of Canadian films which were released in 1988."Dead Ringers tops at Genies". ''Montreal Gazette'', March 23, 1989. The event was held at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in T ...

in 1989, for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

(Cardinal), Best Actor (Koteas) and Best Cinematography ( Karol Ike). The film's producers subsequently created the television drama series '' Urban Angel'', which was also based in part on Malarek's life but centred on a renamed and partially fictionalized character.Rita Zekas, "Avenging angel". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', February 2, 1991.

References

External links

* 1988 films 1988 drama films Canadian biographical drama films English-language Canadian films Films about journalists Films shot in Montreal Films set in Montreal 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films Films directed by Roger Cardinal English-language biographical drama films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub