Gabriel Arcand Movies
- 2008
A 1960s-era teenager discovers that the adult world is neither what she hoped nor what she expected it would be after sparking her mother's tempestuous departure and subsequently being forced to step up and take care of her father and brothers. Elise's father is a respected doctor, and her mother an unsatisfied career woman and part-time journalist. It's been some time since Elise and her mother shared a kind word, so when the frustrated girl is disciplined, she resorts to meddling as a means of lashing out. That meddling proves the breaking point in the relationship between daughter and mother, prompting the mother's hasty and stormy departure from the family. The result of her absence is no less than devastating to the family, and life-altering for Elise, who must now sacrifice her youth in her struggle to keep the family together in their darkest hour. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurent Lucas, Celine Bonnier, (more)
- 2006
The ugly duckling son of a picture-perfect bourgeois family receives a much-needed dose of self-confidence when he is befriended by a beautiful and capricious stranger in director Stephane LaPointe's festering family drama. Thomas Dufresne (Marc Paquet) isn't like the rest of his family. The offspring of a highly successful father and a razor sharp mother whose keen intellect is widely known thanks to her winning performance on a popular quiz show, twenty-five year old Thomas is as clumsy as they come. When Thomas crosses paths with free-spirited waitress Audrey (Catherine De Lean), it seems as if he has finally found the muse who could truly help him live up to his vast potential. Subsequently praised by his architect teachers for his creative innovation, Thomas finally begins to savor the sweet flavor of success. But Audrey isn't everything she appears to be, and when Thomas finds out the truth behind their "chance encounter" the repercussions that follow may be enough to rend the tenuous seams that hold this family together once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gilbert Sicotte, Marc Paquet, (more)
Two men who live in different nations on different continents discover how closely their fates have followed the same path in this drama from filmmaker Philippe Falardeau. Belgian engineer Michel Roy (Olivier Gourmet) looks after his ailing father Herve (Jean-Pierre Cassel) with the help of his wife Alice (Claudia Tagbo) and son Jules (Arnaud Mouithys). One day, Herve decides to share a long-held secret with his son -- Michel was actually adopted, and he was born to a poor family in Canada. Hoping to learn the truth about his birth parents, Michel flies to Quebec and makes his way to Sainte-Cecile, a farming community where Herve says he might find the truth about his heritage. After visiting with a priest sympathetic to his dilemma, Michel meets Louis Legros (Paul Ahmarani), whose electric auto sparks a conversation which leads to a fast friendship between them. As the narrative turns back to examine Louis' life and his efforts to publicize the work and theories of his father, a brilliant but little-known scientist, we see that Michel and Louis have been following similar paths throughout their lives, from unconventional births in Canada to a shared connection with the Congo. Congorama received its world premier at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Directors Fortnight series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivier Gourmet, Paul Ahmarani, (more)
- 2002
A scientist living in Tokyo is sent to a small Canadian town to study the tides in this visually inventive feature from director Manon Briand. Suspecting that the cecassion of the tides may indicate an impending earthquake, Seismologist Alice (Pascale Bussieres) arrives in her hometown of Baie-Comeau, Quebec to commence her investigation. Soon confronted by numerous figures from her past, the unusual weather and inexplicable behavior of the citizens lead Alice to believe that something beyond her comprehension is occurring to her old hometown. With a mysterious waitress (Genevive Bujold), a lusting woman, a pack of nuns, a sleepwalking child and a widower pilot who grows ever closer to Alice all factoring into the strange goings on, it seems as if human emotions may have somehow played an integral part in the sudden climate shift. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pascale Bussières, Julie Gayet, (more)
- 1999
In this tough French-Canadian drama, two outsiders -- one who works with the law, another who lives outside it -- come together with unfortunate consequences. Linda (Sylvie Moreau) is a devoted single mother who will do anything to support her five-year-old daughter, Charlotte (Sarah Lecompte-Bergeron). Unfortunately, a lot of what Linda does best isn't exactly legal, such as luring well-to-do men into the park and then mugging them. One night, Linda is trying to coax a visitor from America into the shadows when the situation starts to go wrong. Meanwhile, Ghislain (Gabriel Arcand) is a shy, lonely fellow who works at the morgue and likes to listen to the blues late at night. In time, we discover that Linda and Ghislain met at one time, leading to an ugly encounter for both of them. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriel Arcand, Sylvie Moreau, (more)
- 1998
In this drama, Tom Paradise (Murray Head) is a Canadian bus driver in his mid-forties who nurses a passion for American beat-era literature and dreams of some day moving to the United States and living a life of freedom in the West he's read about. Anais (Zoe Latraverse) is a younger woman who catches his eye; they become romantically involved, and she takes it upon herself to make Tom's dreams into a reality by bringing him along as she travels to San Francisco and Mexico. But Tom isn't so sure he wants Anais taking over his life. Le Grand Serpent du Monde also features Gabriel Arcand, who was nominated for a Genie award (the Canadian Academy Award) for his supporting performance as Monsieur. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Murray Head, Louise Portal, (more)
- 1995
In this period thriller set near the turn of the century, Jan Thoreau (Gabriel Arcand) is a Canadian trapper who lives with his wife Marie (Alexandra Vandernoot) in a small community in the wilderness not far from Hudson Bay. Blake (Michael Biehn) is a disturbed drifter who has murdered a man and has found a way to frame Jan for his crime. Jan is out tending to his traps when an Indian friend with psychic talents tells him Marie is in grave danger. Jan hurries back, but he has no idea just how serious matters are until he arrives home -- Jan is wanted by the law for a crime he didn't commit, while Blake is hiding out in his home, and has taken Marie hostage. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Gabriel Arcand, (more)
- 1991
This historical drama with music examines the life and times of Emile Nelligan (Lorraine Pintal), one of the major Canadian poets of the 19th century who struggled through a difficult childhood with the help of his loving mother, only to see his career cut short by tragic circumstances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Financial backers from three different countries--Belgium, Canada, France--converged upon the domestic drama L'Air de Rein (Easy In Mind). Carole Courtoy stars as a woman who is convinced that she has only a few months to live. In the time left, she wanders through various European communities, seeking out new experiences. Throughout, we're never sure if her illness will suddenly snatch her away, a fact which adds a veneer of suspense to the proceedings. Given its largest showing at the Barcelona Film Festival, L'Air de Rien was written and directed by Mary Jimenez. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Courtoy, Gabriel Arcand, (more)
- 1988
Set in a small Quebec town in the late '20s, this moving drama follows the life and exploits of Celeste Beaumont, a talented young pianist, who gains local celebrity at the town movie theater for her gifts as a silent film accompanist. As an added attraction, Celeste dons ornate gowns for each performance. Audiences are just as interested in her ever-changing apparel as they are in the film. Awkward Pierre Blaudell is her biggest fan and eventually convinces Celeste to be his wife. Shortly after she bears his son, Pierre joins the army. She insists on joining him at the base and his meddlesome, snooty parents insist she give them her son. After Pierre is killed in battle, Celeste flees to New York where she finds steady employment as a jazz pianist. She finds a life-long companion with a black musician and chronicles her experiences in a diary that she passes on to her son after he grows up. He becomes a painter and once his own son is grown, reads him the story of Celeste, the youth's grandmother. Intrigued, the young man heads to the Big Apple in hopes of finding her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monique Spaziani, Gabriel Arcand, (more)
- 1988
In the dead of a cold Montreal winter, lonely, recently divorced Robert Filion (Gabriel Arcand) learns his father has died in Florida. Robert and his son Maxime (Simon Gonzalez), travel to Florida for the funeral and then set out from Dixie with his late father's car for the return trip to Montreal. After traveling for hours and having trouble finding hotels with a vacancy, they stop in Georgia to spend a near-sleepless night in their car until they are suddenly awakened by a couple of cops who tell them to move on. Further on down the road, the duo meets the talkative travel writer Norman G. Simpson (Gerard Parkes), whose friendliness to Maxime disturbs Robert. After a night of drinking at the Drama Motel in Chesapeake Bay, Robert decides that he won't return Maxime to his mother, and Robert attempts to deal with the loss of his own father by developing a better relationship with his son in this drama of human loss and loneliness. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriel Arcand, Simon Gonzalez, (more)
- 1986
- R
- Add The Decline of the American Empire to QueueAdd The Decline of the American Empire to top of Queue
A rousing "he said/she said" endeavor, The Decline of the American Empire begins by separating the boys from the girls. Preparing a gourmet dinner, four male intellectuals begin trading stories of their sexual experiences. At the same time, four well-read women, all working out in a gym, exchange their own tales from the love front. The film is set in the lofty circles of academia, a world well known to Canadian director Denys Arcand. The anecdotes related herein are based on actual events in the lives of Arcand's professorial friends. There's nothing bookish, however, about the subject matter of the stories themselves, which ranges from mild philandering to S & M. The Decline of the American Empire was the winner of eight Canadian Genie awards (that's the above-the-border equivalent of the Oscar), including Best Picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Curzi, Rémy Girard, (more)
Agnes of God is an "opened up" adaptation of the minimalist stage play by John Pielmeier. Meg Tilly plays a young nun who secretly gives birth to a baby; the child's body is later found strangled to death. Court-appointed psychiatrist Jane Fonda is sent to the convent to investigate, a task made difficult by the weathervane behavior of mother superior Anne Bancroft. To draw out Tilly, who remembers nothing of the birth, Fonda suggests that hypnosis is called for. Playwright Pielmeier poses many questions--is Tilly a pure-and-simple murderess, or was there something "divine" in her act?--but offers frustratingly few answers. The evocative photography is by longtime Ingmar Bergman associate Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, (more)
- 1981
The Plouffe Family, aka Les Plouffe, is a Canadian assault to the kidneys directed by Quebec's "critic's darling" Gilles Carle. The film covers seven years (1938 through 1945) in the lives of the French/Canadian Plouffe clan. Emile Genest is the one "name" player in this phlegmatic character study. Like to try this one on for size? Be warned: it runs (or crawls) 180 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emile Genest, Denise Filiatrault, (more)
- 1980
Documentary filmmaker Jean-Claude Labrecque has stayed close to his calling in this dramatization of the trial of Wilbert Coffin in Quebec in the 1950s. Three American hunters were murdered in the woods, and Coffin, an English-speaking prospector from the dominantly Francophone province, came under suspicion. He helped the detectives in their search for clues through the woods and admitted that he had stolen some things from the hunters -- but he certainly did not kill them, he said. In the end, Coffin is arrested and tried while all along he protests his innocence. Given the rising emotions among the pro-French-speaking factions in Quebec at the time as well as other political factors hinted at in the film, Coffin may have been a simple scapegoat. Labrecque informs, as always, but does not necessarily hit the dramatic highs that a feature-length film needs to hold a general audience. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- August Schellenberg, Yvon Dufour, (more)
- 1980
- R
This drama is set in Montreal when in the mid-'50s a young woman is impregnated by a petty thief who is caught and given ten years in the slammer. In the meantime, the woman bears a son and marries another. The time passes quickly and the thief is eventually released. He immediately goes to her and this nearly destroys her marriage. Fortunately, he realizes that taking the woman away from her husband will only hurt his son and so backs off. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Dale, Winston Rekert, (more)
- 1978
Although he is something of a layabout, and is still living with his mother, her death comes as something of a shock to Louis Pelletier (Gilbert Sicotte). Still, he has hopes of some sort of legacy and believes that his relatives will help him find a job. All his hopes are dashed when, before the funeral, his three aunts come to Quebec City to settle their sister's estate. As grasping and efficient a crew as ever strode a parlor, by the time they leave, the estate has been cleaned to the bones, as if by vultures. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gilbert Sicotte, Monique Mercure, (more)
- 1975
In this Canadian character study, a petty thief steals $5,000 from a marching band and heads to the US with his ditzy girl friend and another couple. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Maher, Micheline Lanctôt, (more)
- 1973
In this early work from director Denys Arcand (Jesus of Montreal), Vincent Padovani (Jean Lajeunesse) is a French-Canadian contractor whose new superhighway is about to open. At a party he throws with the local money-men and political honchos, Padovani willingly indulges in the sort of debauchery that is permissible only in the highest social circles. The revelry is interrupted -- briefly -- when the ex-wife of the highway financier turns up; the financier's bodyguards promptly rub her out and have her body dumped in cement...and by film's end, the unfortunate woman winds up a left turn on Padovani's highway. The anti-establishment ambience of Réjeanne Padovani has a bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you feel, inasmuch as the film was financed by a government grant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This French-Canadian crime/action drama, which satirizes U.S. crime films, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972 and was well received. In the picture, perfectly ordinary people murder, steal, and torture one another with casual abandon in order to solve their everyday problems. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
