Sis R
fic

J 9 : . e ° .
gts house near Winnipeg. It is now a district

M
ONG the many fruits of

© Cuban

revoluti
least lution,

in importance has
© founding of a Cuban
‘lm industry — some-
a with three times
hieveg ation, still has not

iH ts Ure

Th

the :

7 born aR film industry was

‘ oe a“ an urge by Cubans

Volutic, €mselves and their
®n on celluloid; and

F &eq it;

, Buca oe of the profound
j fore ae and agitational
; Aideg the film medium.

“Fide by a strong lead from
finn. ~“S'80, the govern-nent

‘ bp]
. Witho threw the doors open
® Mot, °2Y concern about
4% atters,
y

he -
Ina ae is an energetic,
Whe give and dedicated ven-
Mong wvtely in the hands of
le People. Head of I.C.A-

Nstj
ils Cubano del Arte

d : hea

q "edo Guevara, former
4, € students’ revolu-
pith im ovement. Working
*Velleg are people like much
Manet Eel Yelin; Eduardo
| ae ho had fled Batista
Hy She - Subsequently pub-
: te in France; and
&r gifted people.

ye ey
Y q Shey env taken over about
i ain, . to form a national
VY send: out 16
ayy mm
Wee, tYWhere. They run a

Newsy,
ee ;
A Bey 1 and- intend to

4 a eight feature

Kuba now making
IS own films

films a year. Particularly stim-
ulating is the fact that every-
body is expected to work at
everything all the time. For
example, the leading actor of
Historias de la Revolucion (a
sort of Cuban Brando) is also
kept busy in the office.

So far, I.C.A.I.C. has made
two feature films, about 50
documentaries and has attract-
ed people like-Cesare Zavattini
and Joris Ivens to work on
subjects for them

The first Cuban feature,
Cuba Baila (director: Tomas
Gutierrez Alea), is a satire on
pre - revolutionary snobbery.
The second Historias de la
Revolucion (director: Jose Gar-
cia Espinosa), is made up of
three unrelated incidents dur-
ing the revolution, consciously
in the style of Rosselini’s
Paisa.

It is gratifying to speculate
on the potentialities of LC.A}
LC. It will be a force not only
domestically, not only in coun-
tries all over the world who
are eager to know Cuba’s
achievements first hand. Par-
ticuarly throughout Latin Am-
erica, the central preserve of
U.S. imperialism, the Spanish
language Cuba film will inspire
new masses of people with the
Cuban lesson of a modern’
David and Goliath. Good films
with good truths are a powerful
force. e N. E. STORY.

4 Un
! Hore t

Oniy ey her.

ea
t t |

ain +

At ig,
Wis
And

||"Or My COUNTRY

J ltd is By LOUISE HARVEY

| lf ae country but lost in her young dreams still,
ore of chains which subtly bind her. :

blin an half-dazzled by stripes and stars whieh

4 ‘ Conscious of her own true strength,
Slay, 20 knows his slavery

; ast will cease to be.”

ee Canada, awakened to that fact, ;
ue independence, exulting in the act,
ro : ?

Sato the mighty tree of liberty

Zt the fruit which sets all people free.

THE MAN WHO HAD TO,
HANG; LOUIS RIEL. By E. B.
Osler, Longmans Green, 320;
pages, $5. Available Peonise|
Co-op Bookstore, 307 W. Pen-
der, Vancouver.

On the jacket cover of this
pooks, the publisher states:.

pathetic biography of. Louis
Riel by an English Canadian.”)

This statement is not accu-)
rate. First, the book is not’
strictly a biography but a
dramatized biographical novel
replete with numerous conver-
sational remarks attributed, to
Riel, and containing descrip-
tions of what are reputed to
be Riel’s innermost. thoughts.
Secondly, a most sympathetic
(and still the best!) biography
of Riel was written by W. C.
Davidson, editor of the Cal-
gary Albertan.

What this new book does is
to trace the actions of Riel
during the events leading to
the formatidn of Manitoba as
a province in 1870 and dur-
ing. the Saskatchewan Rebel-
lion of 1885. It also describes
the trial and execution of Riel.

The author’s approach to the!
subject is one of sympathy,
especially in describing the
events in Manitoba and the
trial and execution of Riel. For
this the author is to be com-
mended.

However, this sympathy is
not so apparent in the descrip-
tion. of the events of 1885
which included armed clashes.
The author’s. approach is col-
ored by the great stress he!’
lays on Riel’s religious convic- |
tions and illusions and his
alleged insanity.

Sympathetic to Riel but
upholds insanity myth

“This is the first frankly sym-! IR

LOUIS KRiEL

approach cannot but give an

unbalanced picture of both the}

events and of Riel himself.

What is required in analyz-
ing the events of 1869-70 in
Manitoba and of 1885 in Sas-
katchewan is not only sym-
pathy but a clear understand-
ing of the social forces at
work in this period, of the
classes and: class antagonisms,
of the basic causes of the
struggles of the people who
were making history.

Riel’s actions must be judg-
ed by how well he understood
the problems of his day and by
how well he fought for the
people.

This was the period when
Canada was still going through
the birth pangs of becoming
a nation. The rising capitalist
class in eastern Canada was
anxious to establish its domin-

Tt leaves one with the im-
pression that Riel was a fine
man with good intentions but
unfortunately one who was
obsessed with a mission to lead,
and who was insane. Such an

ation and control over. the
prairies, greedily. rushing to
make quick fortunes from the
building of the CPR, land
speculation and the opening

, of the West, all with

| plete and callous disregard of
| the needs and right of the peo-
| ple already there — the In-
dians, Metis and white settlers,
The peoples of the West were
fighting for their very exist-
ence, for titles to the land they

comes

ocratic rights and responsible
government already won in
eastern Canada.

In this background Louis
Riel emerges as a great and

and completely and selflessly
devoted to the people. More
than that, his actions reveal

eal leadership abilities.

Nor must it be forgotten
‘that Riel firmly resisted all
; offers, bribes and even armed
|attempts by U.S. interests to
| annex Western Canada. For
this alone Canada owes his
|memory a great debt.

Louis Riel’s strength cams
from the people he was an in-
tegral. part of — the Metis,
most of whom were working
people making a living by
hunting, trapping, river trans-
port, etc. That he had religious
illusions and periods when ha
was under great strain is, of
course, apparent but a study
of his life also reveals the
source — betrayal by the Cath»
olic clergy in Manitoba and@
its opposition in . Saskatehe-
wan, his intense idealism, the
hounding and persecution he
suffered at the hands of the
Canadian government.

When his life is summed up
Riel remains the father of
Manitoba, a founder of the
West, a great patriot, a great
people’s leader.

“The Man Who Had Te
Hang: Louis Riel” pays tribute
to much of what Riel did but
still falls far short of the-task.

e BEN SWANKEY

WORTH READING

“Soviet Man In Space,’ 25c.
This is a record of the three
and a half years of Soviet
space research from Sputnik
No. 1 to the first manned flight :

into space. :
“Gaitskell or Socialism,” by

of the role of the right wing
in the British Labor Party
which is refusing to accept
the will of the majority.
"The Historical Advance of
World Socialism.” by William
Zz. Foster, 65c. The capitalist
system and its crisis from 1844
to 1955. Shows how capitalism
is no longer able to hold back
socialism, even temporarily.

John Gollan, 10c. An account| }

Hae

Samuel Lount (left) and Peter Matthews, two leaders who wii
William Lyon MacKenzie fought for responsible government
in the Rebellion of 1837, were hanged in Toronto, April 12.

1838. Today the Rebellion of
having laid the basis for Conf

later, in 1867.

1837 is widely recognized ag
ederation which came 30 years

June 30, 1961—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page §

had homesteaded and. for deme .

good man, of noble character -

i him as a man of great politi-