Underplayed Gems

The Valley Below (2014)

The Valley Below poster
Directed by
Kyle Thomas
Genre
drama film
Country
Canada
Runtime
1h 27m
Rated
14A
Rating
5.1 of 10 from 10 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

The film follows four people in a small Alberta town. A pregnant teen, an alcoholic zamboni driver, a taxidermist with marital problems, and a police officer trying to start a family each face their own struggles.

atmosphericslow-pacedintrospectivemelancholicquietearthypersonalsomber

What happens

The Valley Below is a 2014 Canadian drama film. The feature film debut of filmmaker Kyle Thomas, the film consists of four interrelated stories taking place in the badlands around Drumheller, Alberta. The film was produced by the North Country Cinema media arts collective based out of Calgary, Alberta. The individual stories centre on Kate (Mikaela Cochrane), a young woman preparing to attend college who discovers that she is pregnant just before leaving on a camping trip with her boyfriend Henry (Joe Perry); Warren (Kris Demeanor), a zamboni driver at the local hockey rink and an aspiring musician who is struggling with alcoholism; Gordon (Stephen Bogaert), a shy and reclusive taxidermist dealing with his failing marriage with Susan (Lori Ravensborg); and Barry (Alejandro Rae), a police officer and part-time local radio host who is looking to start a family with his partner Jill (Alana Hawley). Each of the four segments features a score by a different Canadian musician. Rae Spoon, Dan Mangan, Eamon McGrath and Gavin Gardiner composed the music. The film garnered two Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards, in the categories of Best Supporting Actor for Demeanor and Best Original Song for Mangan's song "Wants". The film received largely positive critical attention from the Canadian media, including The National Post calling it a "superb first feature". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.