Reviews

Crucero/Crossroads

Patty Osborne
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When I first encountered Guilermo Verdecchia's name I took the approach of a typical Saxon and avoided saying it out loud. So as I watched the film Crucero/Crossroads (Mongrel Media) I sympathized with Verdecchia's grade one teacher, a wholesome young woman named Miss Wiseman, who, as the camera zooms in on her mouth, struggles to pronounce those intimidating syllables. Verdecchia wrote the film, in which he plays both himself and his alter ego Facundo Morales Segundo (who calls himself "The Barrio Tiger"). Fecundo is the stereotypical Latino with his swaggering walk and his non-stop, heavily accented talk. He has plans to move from his present home in rundown Parkdale to upscale Forest Lawn, where he will overhaul the engine of his Mustang in the driveway, play loud music and invite twelve friends to stay with him for as long as they want. On the other side, Guillermo is deeply Canadian (or, as Facundo would describe him, deeply Saxonical). He has no exotic accent, wears boring clothes and is filled with angst at not fitting into either culture. Since Facundo hogs the spotlight for most of the movie, the result is both hilarious and insightful, revealing as it does some uncomfortable truths about my Saxonical culture.

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