Copyright © 2005 Seville Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

"The Chiefs!" is a 75-minutes documentary film that digs its fingernails into a truly bizarre sub-section of Canada's National Sport. The LHSPQ is the NHL's perverted little cousin. Here you may see 10 fights in a single period, or a bench-clearing brawl in the warm up. Coaches beat on each other. Goalies go at it. And players hike through the stands to slug it out with fans. Welcome to Laval, Quebec, home of The Chiefs de Laval, the toughest team in the Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League. The story begins underneath the bleachers in the back of an old arena. Once a ramshackle storage area, it is now a ramshackle apartment, home to several of the team's tough guys. Although it is cold, noisy, and a fire exit on game days, it is rent free and the players don't seem to mind scaling the fire escape, or climbing through second-story windows to get in and out of their home.

Throughout the season, the arena dwellers fight their way to celebrity status but when the playoffs begin, the Chiefs find themselves in a viable position to win it all and the goons end up watching from the bench. As the team progresses closer to the championship game, the battles once fought on the ice become battles within themselves. Am I a hockey player or a circus clown? The plot turns even more on end, when an underground boxing promoter surfaces with an offer that seems too good to be true.

With characters like a crazed ex-military strong man, a six foot seven, 320-pounds giant, and a French Canadian superfan who believes that hockey is religion and The Chiefs are gods, "The Chiefs" has all the makings of a cult classic.

Have any of you ever had the experience of watching the immortal classic "Slap Shot" with someone not already familiar with the intricacies of the fine sport of hockey? Inevitably, the question is asked, "Is it really like that?" and of course the answer is always, "No - this is just a movie." However, after watching the recently-released Canadian documentary "The Chiefs", I now know that there is a hockey league where "Slap Shot" antics are probably considered the model, not just entertainment.

CalgaryMovies.com was fortunate enough to be able to interview producer Jason Gileno, the results of which are below...

Filmmakers Dave Bajurny and Jason Gileno have been working together since 1999, mostly in the live theatre realm. When Dave went to Laval, Quebec to see his brother Mike play hockey, the idea struck him for a very interesting documentary: at the game, there were four police paddywagons, paramedics and rambunctious fans screaming at the opposing team's players. In that particular game, there were 3 fights before any player on the ice actually touched the puck. Forget "Slap Shot" - this was the real thing!

Approaching The Chiefs' owners, the used the angle on the brother playing hockey and appealed to the team owner's natural eye for publicity and promotion. While they may not have realized or appreciated how big this movie would end up being (nor did the filmmakers), they granted permission for the filmmakers to have free access to the team, its players and its facilities.

Filmed over the course of 2 years, "The Chiefs" is actually a very poignant, touching story that follows the journeys of 5 individual players and the different paths their lives take while serving on the team's roster. I'll admit to initially being drawn to the film by the tagline of "the toughest team in the toughest league in the world" and - while I did enjoy the fisticuffs - it was the heart and humanity of these hard-hitting players that stayed with me long after the credits rolled.

The filmmakers did not know what they were going to end up with when they started this cinematic journey, but they kept the storyline as a moving target, allowing the camera to follow the story, wherever it may end up. Initially capturing the individual storylines of 8 or 9 players, they eventually narrowed the focus down to the 5 key individuals profiled in the film. Ending up with approximately 200 hours of footage, they worked for several months to cut rough cut after rough cut down to final film presented on the DVD for your viewing pleasure.

This film reasonates because it has heart: it's truthful, honest and has no staging whatsoever - what you see is real - gritty and raw, but real. Contrasting the on-ice personalities of these rough & tough players with their very human and very sincere true personalities is gripping stuff, particularly for a non-hockey player such as myself. I always wondered if the players displayed as much bravado off-ice as they do on it, and now I know that what we see on the ice is the small part of the personality puzzle we're allowed a glimpse atÉ but it's the reality that makes for far more fascinating viewing.

Released on DVD March 15th by Seville Pictures, "The Chiefs" is a truly entertaining cinematic gem from some local Canuck filmmakers. Click here to purchase your copy from Amazon.ca.

Video: How's it look?
Fullscreen transfer is as good as can be expected for a shot-on-video production. Colours are pretty strong, detail is good throughout (with only some of the game footage appearing soft at times, probably due to the bright lights in the arena) Ð all in all, a good video presentation.

Audio: How's it sound?
Dolby 2.0 mix sounds great Ð it's a documentary, so it's all talking, and we're able to hear what everyone says at all times, which is what you'd hope for!

Extras: What all's on the DVD? Loaded to the gills!

• commentary with director Gileno and producer Bajurny
• 24 minutes of deleted scenes
• "Hockey Cliches" featurette
• "Virtual Fight School" featurette
• "The Chiefs Greatest Hits" featurette
• "Top 10 Fights" featurette
• biographies of filmmakers & featured players
• trailer

Closing Thoughts
Fantastic, gripping tale + loads of extras = must-have DVD for fans of hockey and heartfelt stories