At the Quinte Hotel

Plot Summary

America had Charles Bukowski and Canada had Al Purdy, a hard-drinking, hard-living poet who wrote about bars, hockey and beer. In this vibrant and kinetic short film, Purdy reads his best-known poem (involving a beer, a bar, and a brawl) accompanied by a dizzying array of animation that perfectly captures the work’s ironic tone and its exuberant evocation of alcohol, antagonism and Art. “Bursting with images, gritty one moment and gorgeous the next – much like Purdy’s poem.” – U of T Magazine (University of Toronto)