Pierre-Luc Brillant Movies
- 2008
Quebec director Yves Christian Fournier takes the helm for this drama about a teen whose world falls apart when his friends commit suicide. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maxime Dumontier, Chloe Bourgeois, (more)
- 2006
A melancholy athlete trades football for a new life as a hit man in this black comedy. Jean-Marc Thomas (Laurent Lucas) was once a reasonably successful professional soccer player, but after his career took a tailspin Thomas's girlfriend committed suicide, which sent him into a deep depression. Thomas moved to his late girlfriend's hometown of Montreal, and twelve years later has left sports behind for a career as a small-time criminal, though he still insists on carrying his soccer ball with him most of the time. While Thomas and his partner Michel (Pierre-Luc Brilliant) have barely mastered the art of knocking over doughnut shops and empty houses, a low-level crime boss has approached Thomas and asked him to consider becoming a hired killer. Thomas reluctantly agrees even though he has no idea of how to use a gun, and begins trailing his first target through Montreal in mid-winter. Sur La Trace d'Igor Rizzi (aka On The Trail of Igor Rizzi was the first feature film from Toronto-based writer and director Noel Mitrani. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurent Lucas, Pierre-Luc Brillant, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Cote, Marc-André Grondin, (more)
- 2000
Gilles (Michel Cote) is a mild-mannered dentist until his wife of 20 years suddenly dumps him for another man. Dejected, depressed, and distraught, he turns to his psychiatrist, Docteur Bilodeau (Yves Jacques), who has his patients lay into a punching bag. For Gilles, the treatment proves to be too successful, and soon he's taking his treatment out on his clients. While cooling his heels in jail, he bonds with cellmate Sunsey (Patrick Huard), a hard-drinking, dope-smoking man's man. Soon, Gilles office has transformed into a neo-hippie drug den and party pad. Somewhere amid the THC haze, Gilles starts to date comely lass Sophie (Guylaine Tremblay) -- who in a Vertigo-like turn looks just like his soon-to-be ex-wife. Has he found the doppelganger of his life's love or should he lay off the hallucinogens? This film was huge hit in its native Quebec. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Cote, Patrick Huard, (more)
- 1999
In this French Canadian drama, a man going through some difficult life experiences find things become even more complicated when his ex re-enters his life. Max (James Hyndman) is an artist who has lost the use of his legs and is confined to a wheelchair. Fortunately, he still has many close friends and his loft serves as a salon for a variety of like-minded bohemians, including a self-centered sculptor, Mortimer (Yves Jacques); the slightly dim Julius (Michel Charette); and Maggie (Jacynthe Rene), who has no qualms about posing for Max in the nude. However, Max's well-ordered existence is upset when he hears from Lucie (Pascale Bussieres), his former girlfriend before an ugly breakup. Lucie has taken it upon herself to punish Max for their acrimonious parting, and she bombards him with a variety of obscene or annoying phone calls, taunts him as a cripple, and has sex with another man in an apartment across the street, clearly visible to Max through his window. Meanwhile, Max's best friend Laurel (Pierre-Luc Brillant) has his own ghosts from the past to deal with; he's recently discovered the identity of his birth mother, who gave him up for adoption when he was still an infant. Laurel would like to meet her, but his adopted mother, Pauline (Louise Portal), would prefer that the biological mother stay in his past. Director Jean Beaudin collaborated with novelist Monique Proulx for this adaptation of Proulx's book Homme Invisible a la Fenetre. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Hyndman, Pascale Bussières, (more)
- 1997
This Canadian film, a sequel to the successful Matusalem (1993), begins with cops intervening during a fight at a kids' hockey game. Olivier (Emile Proulx Cloutier), who travels back in time each year on his birthday, is joined on the jaunt by his friends and oddball French teacher Ambroise Debuc de Beauchesne (Marc Labreche), They seek the valuable Matusalem diamond, but pirate buccaneers add a few complications to their task. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Labreche, Emile Proulx-Cloutier, (more)
