Last Sunday night found me in a park in Griffintown enjoying the latest free movie offering by Film Noir au Canal. For close to a decade, this local group has been screening moody black-and-white masterpieces on the banks of the Lachine Canal, showcasing a world where women were take-no-guff dames, men sported tailored suits and fedoras, and the verbal exchanges were always razor-sharp.

For six Sunday evenings (until Aug. 17) Montrealers can grab a blanket or their favourite camping chair, bring food and drinks and lie under the stars (or in last Sunday’s case, an eerie orange half-moon) and watch French or English movies featuring sultry femme fatales who may or may not be up to no good and hapless private eyes who usually can’t tell the difference.

The crowd — a mix of young and old, large boisterous groups, people on their own, couples out on a romantic evening — all sitting and lying so closely together, that occasionally as we shift positions on the grass, someone’s shoe may brush up against someone’s hand. No one cares.

There’s a lingering poetic........

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