CM Magazine: One Man's Paradise.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VI Number 7 . . . . November 26, 1999

One Man's Paradise.

John Brett (Director). John Brett and Kent Martin (Producers).
Montreal, PQ: National Film Board of Canada, 1997.
54 min., VHS, $39.95.
Order Number: C9197 035.

Subject Headings:
Henneberry, Llewellyn James.
Fishers-Nova Scotia-Sambro-Biography.

Grades 8 and up / Ages 13 and up.
Review by Luella Sumner.

*** /4

excerpt:

"I'm a fisherman - right? That's my living, and if you're going to back off and say 'I'm scared to death'- you're not a good fisherman."
(Lewie Henneberry)

The narrator of this video begins - I thought he was a crazy old fisherman - but it soon becomes evident to the narrator and the viewer that Lewie Henneberry, fisherman, businessman, museum curator, raconteur, singer, philosopher, is not crazy, but he is funny, eccentric, smart, and wise.
     Lewie Henneberry comes from a large family who all live around the small fishing village of Sambro, Nova Scotia. Fishing for swordfish, halibut, sharks and tuna is in their blood; their father was a seafaring man who taught all his sons to be fishermen. In turn, Lewie has taught his four sons to fish and now is teaching his grandsons. He hopes his grandsons will become fishermen, too, but modern day quota systems and other government interventions threaten the traditional way of life. His wife is dead now, but Lewie remembers her with love and affection for the wonderful marriage they had and the seven children she gave him.
     While Lewie operates a multi million dollar fishing business with his sons, in his spare time, he runs his museum, full of oddities, stuffed fish, and artifacts. He has created bizarre works of art from shark teeth, shells, crabs, and lobster claws. He entertains visitors and educates them too, especially the children, as he explains the marvels of the sea.
     The video is able to tell the story of Lewie's earlier years through the use of home movies that the family had taken over the years, some even recorded out in the fishing boats. The story of Lewie Henneberry is a story of a man close to nature who respects the ocean and its dangers, but one who makes light of hardship, loves his family, and lives his life with dignity and humour.
     A fascinating story to watch which leaves the viewer with a sense of pride in our countryman.

Recommended.

Luella Sumner is a librarian at the Red Rock Public Library, Red Rock, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - November 26, 1999.