Jean-Marc Vallée Movies

Two stories of love and responsibility separated by four decades have a common link in this drama from writer and director Jean-Marc Vallee. In 2011, Antoine (Kevin Parent) has a life most people would envy -- he's a successful club DJ living in Montreal with an international following, he has a beautiful girlfriend Rose (Evelyne Brochu), and is raising two healthy daughters. However, Rose is not Antoine's first love, and he's still infatuated with his ex-wife Carole (Helene Florent), the mother of his children. Carole hopes he'll someday return to her, though despite his feelings there's little evidence to suggest he will. In 1969, Jacqueline (Vanessa Paradis) is a single mother who is raising a seven-year-old son Laurent (Marin Gerrier). Laurent was born with Down syndrome, and is not expected to live past 25; Jacqueline is determined to do whatever she can for her boy during the time he has, but as the stress of these demands take their toll, we learn that she and Carole share a special connection. Named for a song beloved by both Antoine and Laurent, Café de flore was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A middle-class teenage misfit living in '70s era Montreal dreams of abandoning his familiar hometown surroundings to seek a brighter future in director Jean-Marc Vallée's character-driven drama. A sexually-confused Christmas Day baby who likes to march to the beat of his own drummer, Zachary Beaulieu (Marc-André Grondin) nevertheless longs to live up to his old-fashioned father's (Michel Cote) decidedly more traditional expectations. As Zachary seeks solace in the sounds of Pink Floyd and David Bowie, his mother assures him that he's bound for greater things and testosterone-fueled siblings raise hell around the house. Despite feeling bound by his comparatively normal surroundings, the revelations provided by David Bowie's "Space Oddity" allows the disheartened Zachary the luxury of dreaming. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Mario Van Peebles wrote, produced, and starred in this follow-up to his 1993 Western Posse. Chance (Van Peebles) is a cavalry scout in the old west who accidentally gives his battalion wrong directions going into a battle. Not being a forgiving bunch, the soldiers beat Chance, tar and feather him, and leave him to die in the desert. However, Chance is found by Buck (Paul Lazar), who asks him if he's the young god Icarus, who fell to Earth after flying too close to the sun. It seems that Buck is an inmate at an insane asylum that's part of a nearby convent; Chance is brought back to the convent, where the nuns nurse him back to health. Chance learns that the Mother Superior (Jean Speegle Howard) is in poor health, and she asks Chance to lead the nuns and their charges to a safer mission 100 miles across the arid plains. Mother Superior dies only a few hours later, and the cruel Sister Drexel (Rusty Schwimmer) takes charge of the flock. Not eager to take her abuse, Chance goes his own way, but when he encounters the disturbed men of the convent, led by the self-proclaimed President (Rene Auberjonois), he realizes that he must help them if they are to survive. Los Locos was also distributed as Los Locos: Posse Rides Again, though while both are set in the old West and star Mario Van Peebles, he does not play the same character and the two films have no narrative connection. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi