Seducing Dr. Lewis

Isolation: It is obvious that this movie was filmed in Quebec and not in some elaborately rustic Hollywood set. The town of Saint Marie is an island that can only be accessed by boat. Saint Marie is beautiful, but there is no fleet of tourist ships headed its way. One hundred and twenty people can claim to be residents and all of them seem to have lived there their entire lives. The town never speaks of neighboring areas. In fact one resident states that he has never even left (or at least has never been to a city). At one point St. Marie was self sufficient, but now that the fishing economy has petered out the residents can be seen early morning, waiting in line for welfare checks at the post office. Its isolation was sustained by the surplus of fish, but now they feel compelled to embrace the outside world, and industrialization, as a means of supporting themselves.
Landscape: St. Marie has a rocky coastline. It is a cold and wet environment. From the coast the land sharply plateaus, and upon this the town is built. The island has vegetation like Grasses and bushes, but there isn’t any top soil to lead to farming.
rural versus urban: To quickly stereotype, the people in the rural areas like to play hockey, drink beer and go fishing, while the people in the city like to play cricket, snort cocaine and listen to jazz fusion. The townspeople are depicted as provincial and not that knowledgeable about the world outside of their own. The interests of the people of Saint Marie are rooted in the region itself, while the people of the city are having worldly and eclectic tastes. There is one person in the small town that has the internet and he is viewed almost like a genie. Everybody knows each other in Saint Marie, even if they don’t particularly like them they still depend on them day to day. The character Dr. Lewis seems to have very few friends is associations beyond his best friend and his girlfriend.
Much like the city rural distinction the French Quebec vs. the non French Quebec division is rooted in the day to day atmosphere of things. French Quebec is more rural and poor. The architecture is local, that is, they build whatever they need. This is somewhat of a generalization. In non French Quebec more commerce happens, international commerce takes place and local culture and tradition is not as deeply emphasized.
The movie seems to view government in an unsympathetic light. The people are resentful towards being dependent on the government. They would rather work, like nearly everyone, than receive that money. However, things are not going so well, the aid is necessary. Any governmental assistance that would help improve their economy is shunned, and instead only enough money to keep them going is given. The movie views the government as a non-entity. Instead the only source of help that they embrace is industry. Because they will at least provide jobs for the people. Government is seen as something far off and cold, and is not looked toward as a solution for problems.
Transportation: If you have somewhere to go you walk. If you really have some place to go than you take the boat. The island is small so everything is local. Boats to the island are infrequent, and it seems that it is mostly the townspeople that traverse back forth from the mainland.
The people of St. Marie are permanent residents. Everyone seems to have grown up together. You cannot simply move away. Moving away is seen as being a traitor. In the past everyone was a fisherman and if you were a man that was what you would be. The island is more important to people than basic self interest. More money would be made by leaving, but the social support, custom, and traditions are too important for the people to abandon. The people of St. Marie will never leave St. Marie.