Highway 61
Inspired by Bob Dylan’s classic song and the fact that Highway 61 actually starts in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Bruce McDonald and Don McKellar joined forces to create this acclaimed rock ’n’ roll road movie.
When naïve barber Pokey Jones (McKellar) meets Jackie Bangs (Buhagiar), a flamboyant roadie on the run, it doesn’t take her long to persuade him to leave Thunder Bay for New Orleans. Jones f inds himself taking not only Jackie, but also a frozen corpse he found in his backyard, which she claims is her brother. Meanwhile, in hot pursuit of the fleeing couple is Mr. Skin (Pastko), a bizarre and deluded character who thinks of himself as the Devil. As the three travel south, sparks fly and romance blooms between Pokey and Jackie.
“The triumphant return of two talents firing on all cylinders.” — Festival of Festivals
Staff Pick:
"What self-respecting Canadian wouldn't find the humour in this exchange: "So you must be from the big city." "What big city is that?" "Thunder Bay." —Deanna
Director(s):
Bruce McDonald
Writer(s):
Don McKellar, Bruce McDonald, Allan Magee
Producer(s):
Bruce McDonald, Colin Brunton
Cast:
Valerie Buhagiar, Earl Pastko, Don McKellar
Genre(s):
Comedy, Drama
Language(s):
English
Closed Captioning:
EN CC
Region:
Highway 61 is filmed and set in Ontario. Bruce McDonald is from Ontario.