The Godchild Movie Review

Space and time can be altered, but the truth never changes. This sci-fi fantasy film redefines the space time continuum through one unique boy's journey.

“Everyone’s connected,” says Peter as he shares some of his lessons to the audience regarding his travels through time and space. This interconnectedness is displayed in various ways throughout The Godchild.

The Godchild is a 2010 indie film by Canadian independent film director Philip Spink, which stars Kari Townsend, Steve Dhillon, Riah Fielding-Walters, Michael Heltay, Grant Spink and Hazel Valdez. This independent film features an all-Albertan cast and crew. The themes of interconnectivity, love, loss, fear and truth are clearly communicated in this work.

The Godchild Plot

Peter, played by Grant Spink, is a young boy from the Midwest. His godmother (and guardian) has been missing for quite some time. On what seems to be a normal day at school, Peter’s class is discussing Pompeii. When Kate, the teacher, compliments Peter on his drawing of ancient Roman columns, Peter informs her “I am there now.” In this way, the “mystery of Peter” is introduced.

As Sister Beth Myers, played by Kari Townsend, along with Peter’s teachers (Riah Fielding-Walters and Hazel Valdez) doctor (Steve Dhillon) and lawyer (Michael Heltay) attempt to solve the mystery behind Peter’s “episodes,” they are drawn into his world and are forced to face their own inner demons in the process. No character remains unchanged at the end of the journey.

Well Paced and Well Balanced Story in The Godchild

Although Grant Spink (Knights of Bloodsteel) plays the central character Peter in The Godchild, the true “star” of the movie is the story itself. There are four interconnected stories that weave around Peter's story. For the most part, these are well balanced, giving each leading actor a chance to shine, without seeming contrived.

Philip Spink captured the fleeting emotions on each character’s face effectively through lighting and camerawork as they wrestled with their thoughts and fears. The transformation from shock to disbelief to fear was artfully done when Kate is transported away from the school. Riah Fielding-Walters (The Wizard's Christmas) does a spectacular job of projecting those emotions through only her eyes.

The lighting was especially effective when Steve Dhillon (Money, ODC, 419: The Nigerian Scam) as the guilt-ridden doctor faced himself in his apartment. The theatre felt chillier with the dim steel blue lighting and the haunting strains of the soundtrack.

If anything, more information on Kate’s back story would have brought a bit more depth to her character. The doctor’s story did receive more screen time, but also could have been fleshed out just a bit more, although for both characters, the essentials were covered for their stories.

Michael Heltay as Bernie (Knights of Bloodsteel) and Hazel Valdez as Sister Valdez also deliver strong performances in the film. Valdez even injects a bit of Filipino cultural humour into one scene.

The movie soundtrack weaves into the story seamlessly. The melancholy minimalist themes enhance the character's emotions beautifully, from angst to frustration and from sadness to desperation.

The soundtrack is scored by Canadians James Guttridge (Voyage of the Unicorn, X-Files) and Peter Jancewicz. The Godchild marks Jancewicz’s debut in composing for film. His compositions are published by Alfred Music Publishing and Alberta Keys.

Grant Spink and Kari Townsend Shine in The Godchild

Grant Spink and Kari Townsend (The Call, Who Dressed You This Morning?) both delivered riveting performances in this movie. Both roles demanded a wide spectrum of emotions (some work with the blue screen). Their stories are fleshed out the most throughout the movie.

Townsend’s Sister Beth was portrayed as a strong woman trying to keep her world – the school – afloat. As the story progresses and viewers learn of her tragic story, Townsend aptly project’s the good nun’s vulnerabilities and desires.

Grant Spink brings a balance of youthful impetuousness, tempered by sweetness to the role. Both are needed to help audiences relate to his extraordinary character. At his core, Peter is just a child who’s trying to find his godmother. Trying to find the truth.

The Godchild – The Facts

The Godchild (2010) is a sci-fi fantasy movie rated PG. Running time is 83 minutes.

This sci fi film is based on an original screenplay by Philip Spink. Among Spink’s writing and directing credits are numerous sci-fi TV shows and mini-series, including Knights of Bloodsteel, The White Crane Killers, Once in a Blue Moon and Voyage of the Unicorn, which was ranked as Hallmark Entertainment’s highest rated two-night mini-series. His works have also appeared on RHI, SPIKE TV, Showtime TV and the Sy Fy Channel. He runs a production company, Philip Spink Productions in Calgary, Alberta.

The Godchild is available to buy or rent on the movie's website.

The Godchild – More Than a Time Travel Story

The story of The Godchild is well-paced. The development of the characters and the projection of their emotions are not rushed in the least. Although the premise of the story is space time travel, it’s the interconnecting storylines, along with the interaction between all the main characters that make this film enjoyable to watch (the space travel metaphysics is just a bonus for sci-fi fans).

The coin-flipping scene from the trailer and the film's ending? They need to be seen to be fully appreciated.

The Godchild stars Kari Townsend, Steve Dhillon, Riah Fielding-Walters, Michael Heltay, Grant Spink and Hazel Valdez. It had a limited run in Calgary, showing at the Canyon Meadows Cinemas on October 16, 23 and 30, 2010 at 10:00 A.M. Tickets and CD soundtrack were $5.00 each. This science fiction movie premiered Saturday, October 9, 2010 in Calgary, Alberta.

Rating: 4.5/5

Originally published on October 12, 2010 on Suite101.com. Updated March 21, 2013. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir, Live at TED 2013

I am very excited about this one. Although I wasn't able to participate, it is just a delight to be able to watch this and know that I've made connections with some of the people in the Virtual Choir who participated in this special project.

This time, Eric Whitacre had a live choir perform onstage with a virtual choir on screen. Just wild.

Virtual Choir for the world!

The full TED Talk:

Group Class Week Round 3 Reflections - 2013 edition

Another Group Class  Week has come and gone. I must say, I am quite grateful that I had to foresight to throw in group classes just before Spring and Easter Break. It's a great way to transition into the break.

The kids have been enjoying the group classes, for the most part. For us music teachers, we're just glad to be able to spend more time with our students on special areas of interest.

This week, some of my brother's and some of my students attended the following classes:

1. Creative Composition with Strings

2. Playing with Patterns - Introductory Improvisation

3. Music Appreciation 101: Music & Technology

4. Project – Studio

5. Introduction to Sound & Technology

6. Piano Combo Class

In my brother's Creative Composition class, the students wrote short compositions with limitations. Some of the limitations could be: write a short song in two minutes, write a jingle for a radio commercial or a video game loop or write a song for only certain instruments. I hear it went well.

In the introductory improvisation class, I gave the students the skeleton of five patterns to improvise on. In truth, I gave them certain modes to jam on. One student would take care of melody, the other played bass. I had to jump in on percussion to keep everyone in time. The group was pretty quiet, so I was unsure of whether they enjoyed it.

I ran the Music Appreciation: Music & Technology Class twice this week. Our students surprised me with what caught their interest. For instance, they perked up while watching a video where a technician started to pull apart a harpsichord. I had to stop the video several times to field questions. Ditto for the magnetic tape segment ("This recording was made with sticky tape and rust.").

The one area that they really surprised me with was copyright. They asked some really good questions. I think that I will have to write a group class plan for Creating and Copyright.

Project - Studio was lively. This is another class that ran twice this week. The students created a radio commercial, from concept to production in 90-minutes. Although Maestro didn't approve of the music selections or sound effects, I can safely say that the students left with smiles on their faces after completing their project.

Introduction to Sound & Technology has evolved since the first time it was offered in August. Last night, the students explored different types of sound recording technology before recording sound effects to go with a short video game clip. The students worked extremely well together and got a lot accomplished.

This was the first time that the Piano Combo Class ran this year. Three keyboards, three students. Each took a turn at working on melody, comping and playing bass. Depending upon their instrument choices, I had to jump in on melodica and try comping on the chords (emphasis on "try"). The kids worked on Ev'rybody Wants to Be A Cat, Tetris Theme A and Bad Romance. The hardest part for them was to approach their instrument from an ensemble perspective and not a one-person band. For instance, I had to remind them (and myself) to comp with rootless chords.

Now that Round 3 is over, we are getting a better picture of what works and what doesn't. For starters, any of the technology projects need more than one class to complete. They are just begging to be set up as a three or four-class course. The same could be said for the accompanying and conducting classes that ran earlier this school year.

Some projects are really hard to figure out running times for. It really depends upon how well the students work well together and how focused they are at completing their projects.

In some cases, two students are ideal in a class. Five is starting to feel like too much. Three or four is just right. That way, they all get a chance to work on the computer or on all the instruments.

Two more rounds to go. One in May and the final round in July. After which, we'll be able to assess which classes to expand on and which ones to cut completely.

Happy Passover 2013

The evening of Monday, March 25, 2013 marks the beginning of Passover. This tradition is observed every year by people of the Jewish faith worldwide.

Passover is in Christian history as well, since the Torah does make up the Christian Old Testament.

This tradition goes back, way back to the 10 plagues and the time Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt.

It is a tradition that commemorates the Jewish people's exodus from Egypt. On the night before their escape, they shared a meal with unleavened bread, matzo.

This seder plate shows a zeroah (roasted bone), beitzah (hard-boiled egg), maror (horseradish root), charoset (chopped apple, ground walnuts and red wine), karpas (small slice of onion, boiled potato or sprigs of parsley dipped in salt water), chazeret (romaine lettuce),

For more information, check out Passover, Passover - History & Overviewor, non-Jewish folk can crack open a Bible to the Book of Exodus.

If you would like to attend a Passover Seder Meal, check out the International Seder Directory.

Happy Passover!

Happy 328th Birthday Johann Sebastian Bach

According to some historical pundits, today is Johann Sebastian Bach's 328th birthday.

Although I can't say that he's my favourite composer, I do have tremendous respect for his genius. To be able to hear how five voices can weave together harmoniously in a fugue and create that - it's just amazing.

I must admit that I enjoy listening to Bach's music more than playing it.

A quick search on Amazon reveals that these are 10 of the most popular recordings of the master of the fugue:

1. Joan Kennedy: The Joy of Classical Music- The Audio Companion to the Best Seller

2. Bach: 6 Brandenburg Concertos / 4 Orchestral Suites -Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert (1989)

3. Best of Bach

4. Bach: St. Matthew Passion by The Collegiate Chorale, Charles Bressler, Betty Allen, William Wildermann and Adele Addison (1999)

5. J.S. Bach: Matthäus-Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach, Herbert von Karajan, Walter Hagen-Groll, Berlin National Cathedral Choir and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1990)

6. Bach: Matthäus-Passion (St. Matthew Passion) by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf / Peter Pears, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Walter Berry, Raymond Clark / Bela Dekany, Ralph Downes / Christa Ludwig and Nicolai Gedda / John Carol Case (1989) - Original recording remastered

7. Build Your Baby's Brain 1 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, George Frederick Handel, Franz [Vienna] Schubert and Antonio Vivaldi (1998)

8. Leonard Bernstein - A Total Embrace: The Conductor by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Johann Sebastian Bach and Bela Bartok (2003) - Original recording remastered

9. Paper Music by Bobby McFerrin, Peter Howard, Johann Sebastian Bach, Luigi Boccherini and Gabriel Faure (1995)

10. UltraSound - Music for the Unborn Child by Claude Debussy, Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Jules Massenet and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1999)

If I had to choose which three to add to my library on my next music order, I'd have to go with the following:

#5 - Herbert von Karajan, Walter Hagen-Groll, Berlin National Cathedral Choir and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's recording of St. Matthew's Passion:  A solid group of performers and at a price point that I might - just might - loan out to a responsible student.

#8 - Leonard Bernstien's recording: I have fond memories of studying Leonard Bernstein in music history.

#9 - Paper Music with Bobby McFerrin: I've enjoyed Bobby's music in my youth. I admire him even more with the work he has been doing with The Music Instinct: Science and Song, which looks at music and the brain.

I leave you with one of my favourite works by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Brandenberg Concerti