User Reviews

There is a certain brand of affectation one is very familiar with if one has gone to film school. This rip-off of 1984 is a feature-length example of it. See, the main character is 'persecuted'. He has 'integrity' because he's trying to 'buck the system'. These clichés are emblematic of the movie's tired ideas. The result is a boring, artless film with structure problems and stock characters.

Speaking of which, the other big flaw here is actor John Tensch, who plays the villain, embodying the very definition of amateurish acting. If you can watch him for the entire movie without cringing so much that you become sick to your stomach, you are a strong, strong person.

The filmmakers obviously had no budget, which is likely why they shot in black and white. This would be fine, except that the lack of budget really hinders the film's attempt to make its audience believe that this takes place in the future. It merely looks as though it takes place in a warehouse (which it probably does).

Review from Pacific Cinematheque Archives: JOHNNY SHORTWAVE: Your worst nightmares about the triumph of transnational corporatism, globalization, market-driven social values, and blinkers-on-deficit obsession come true in Toronto director Michael Bockner's bracingly good low-budget feature JOHNNY SHORTWAVE, a futuristic film noir set in a big business-battered Canada of the late 1990s. "Inspired by Godard's ALPHAVILLE... Bockner imagines North America at the end of the 20th century: massive unemployment and engineered food shortages have created a huge, permanent underclass and brought about a police state to control it. An underground resistance is rumoured to exist, and is being exhorted to rise up by the voice of "Johnny Shortwave" -- a guerrilla radio operator who broadcasts the truth to a continent oppressed by an Orwellian authority called The Industrial Alliance. Hijacking shortwave frequencies and jamming government signals, he broadcasts messages of revolution and freedom from a secret location within the city. Fearing the effects of Johnny's subversive influence, the government dispatches a special agent" (Film Forum/New York). The cartoon-like title (suggestive of Johnny Canuck) and intentionally cheesy effects belie the film's serious intentions: JOHNNY SHORTWAVE succeeds because of the intelligence of its drama, the torment of its doubt-afflicted protagonist, the tautness of its script, and the trenchancy of its message. It is also a beautifully shot, visually dynamic work. "Particularly timely. Moody, noirish and shot in glorious black-and-white... the message is potent" (Newsday). Canada 1996. Director: Michael Bockner. Cast: Emmanuel Mark, John Tench, Mona Matteo, Dougie Richardson. B&W, 35mm, 92 mins.

I saw this film years ago on a screener while in high school. I was deeply impacted by the look of this film. I think it can be favourably compared to the stark black and white aesthetic of Shinya Tsukamoto's Iron Man: Tetsuo or David Siegal's Suture. I keep hoping Michael Bockner will make another film, but I can't find any info about him or his other endeavors.

The plot about anti-corporatism was pretty de fare in the days of Corporate Rock Still Sucks, but thinking about it, I have to say Johnny Shortwave's concerns about expression and globalization may almost be more relevant than ever.