Gratien Gelinas Movies
- 1988
Immigrants from Quebec travel to the Eastern United States to work for French industrialists in this historical drama. Gratien Gelinas plays a venerable Quebecois who recalls in 1988 the era from 1907 to 1920 in a series of flashbacks. He compares the modern computer age with the steadily growing industrial era of the early 20th century. An all-star cast of French and Canadian thespians participate in this miniseries as the Quebecois deal with love, life, politics, and war. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliette Huot, Gratien Gelinas, (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)
- 1980
This Canadian tragedy centers around the controversial 1899 murder trial of Cordelia Viau and her retarded handyman, Samuel Parslow, with whom she had an affair. The case was so sensational because it represents the first time in which a conviction was based on purely circumstantial evidence. Despite the fact that both parties had strong alibis, and the evidence was contradictory, the jury still found them guilty of murdering her husband. The reason they were hung had more to do with the public's moral outrage at their well-publicized affair. People from all over the world attended their double hanging. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Portal, Gaston Lepage, (more)
- 1970
A young man finds himself tragically trapped between cultures in this drama that was filmed in the beautiful Canadian countryside. The young man is half-native and half-Quebecois; no matter where he goes, be it in the country, or the city, he cannot seem to fit in. As a result, he begins getting into trouble involving gangsters, fast cars, and loose women. Just before his early death, he gets involved in a surreal initiation rite. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Pilon, Genevieve Deloir, (more)
- 1953
French-Canadian actor/playwright Gratien Selinas' popular theatre piece Tit Coq was brought to the screen in 1953, with Selinas himself in the title role. The story concerns an arrogant young soldier of illegitimate birth, whose amoral behavior and chip-on-the-shoulder attitude proves a roadblock in his romance with lovely young Marie-Ange (Monique Miller). Through a misunderstanding, Marie-Ange weds another while Tit Coq is overseas, convincing the ill-tempered young man that life's a cesspool after all. A last-minute effort to steal Marie-Ange away from her husband is foiled when Tit Coq's long-dormant sense of morality is awakened. Filmed on a tiny budget, Tit Coq was a significant success in Canada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gratien Gelinas, Monique Miller, (more)
