Glenn Gould's Toronto (1979)

Glenn Gould's monologue in this charming documentary touches on the peace and quiet Toronto offers him, the reflexive distaste it can inspire in others, the "cultural mosaic" to which it plays host (sometimes insistently), the way it survived the 1960s without enduring the disastrous hollowing-out American cities did, and the friendly rivalry it enjoys with Montreal. Gould's clear, analytical manner of speech delivers a stream of pointed observations, dry jokes, and childhood memories, revealing his nuanced lifelong relationship with the city: not the simple one of a booster, nor the even simpler one of a detractor. But then, Gould never had anything simple about him — nor, as I've come to find out this past week, does Toronto.