butterbox babies - 7.5/10 untold canadian stories

this is not "road to avonlea".

by the same producer, and originally seen on cbc, this more realistically dark movie tells the tale of young women in nova scotia just prior and during the second world war, who got pregnant out of wedlock and who gave up their babies to keep the town secrets under wraps. well - that's my take on it anyway. it also tell of the tragedy and remorse that some people had during that time, and how good things can turn on you, despite best efforts and good will.

focusing on the man and wife team who helped these young girls, this is also a tale of the religious bent at that time, and i think the main characters that this movie portrays are quite progressive for the time - not because of progressive thinking, but because they felt they were doing the work that god would be proud of.

likely many babies did died under their care, and were buried in butterboxes. i'm sure that many more were saved, and sold at a profit, as the movie suggests. i'm sure there are still emotional wounds that run deep, although many of the "babies" that surviced would be past retirement age now. those who have ties to this canadian tragedy will be passing on this story and working this out for generations to come (much like the children who were sent to canada from the united kingdom at the turn of the last century as cheap labour).

truly a tiny dark crystal on the pristine canadian landscape, these are the types of stories that people need to see, need to understand.

for a cbc production - i was impressed.