Micheline Lanctôt Movies

The influence of genetics and the ability to identify oneself as a separate entity from family lineage lies at the heart of award-winning short-filmmaker Louise Archambault's slice of life drama concerning a nomadic mother and her teenage daughter. Affectionately known as Mimi by her friends, Michèle (Sylvie Moreau) is an aerobics instructor with a nasty gambling habit. When Mimi's boyfriend discovers that she has gone back on her promise to avoid the gaming table, his threat to freeze her finances drives the free-spirited mother to collect her daughter Marguerite (Mylene St. Sauveur) and hit the road on the sly -- again. A brief but revealing stop at the home of Mimi's youthful mother reveals the source of Mimi's impulsive nature, and after a friendly visit, Mimi and Marguerite seek refuge at the home of Mimi's childhood friend Janine (Macha Grenon). Reluctantly allowing the wayward pair into her suburban heaven so that they may get back on their feet, Mimi and Janine attempt to improve their parenting skills and serve as positive examples for their teenage daughters before an inherent difference in value systems leads to elevating tensions. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When ad exec Anne-Marie (Anne-Marie Cadieux) takes a sabbatical, she finds herself compelled to use her time away to search for the meaning of happiness. Filmed as a quasi-documentary, Happiness Is a Sad Song finds Cadieux on the streets of Montreal with a video camera, asking passers by about their most basic life philosophies. Along with many strangers who are too fatigued by the summer heat to offer much more than sarcasm are a kind-hearted African musician and a confused drug addict. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

A Canadian woman reconnects with her ethnic Albanian roots and then some in director Nicholas Kinsey's 2002 drama Women Without Wings. Thirtysomething Marije (Katya Gardner) works in a nowhere job as a waitress and finds herself torn between two unappealing men. After hearing of her grandfather's death in Albania, Marije decides to attend the funeral in place of her sickly mother and sets out on her journey. Shortly after her arrival, Marije discovers that her ancestral homeland is a dark, mysterious place filled with old legends and older blood feuds -- prompting her to abandon her life back in Canada. Furthermore, she decides to become a vowed virgin -- a declaration that enables her to forswear marriage and motherhood in favor of dressing and acting like a man for the rest of her life. Marije's unconventional choice wasn't as random as it seemed, as her aunt Zef (Micheline Lanctot) made the same decision long ago and now lives as a highly respected member of the family's tribe. Setting out with the common goal of vengeance, the two women begin their quest of tracking down Marije's grandfather's assassin. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Montreal director Charles Biname (Eldorado) and novelist Monique Proulx used actor improvs as a basis for this screenplay look at life in Montreal. Unhappy Louise (Pascale Montpetit) can't connect with her career-minded sister Paulette (Anne-Marie Cadieux). To make matters worse, her lover Julien (Guy Nadon) is a married father with little time to spend seeing Louise -- so she takes to the streets, informing people at random that her services are available for exactly 60 minutes. Some talk away their hour, while others desire sex. One couple want Louise to play doctor-nurse with them, and a middle-aged woman has her dispose of a dead pet. Quebec celebrities seen in cameos include Montreal Festival of New Cinema director Claude Chamberlan. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Aimed for both children and adults, this slapstick crime comedy chronicles the further adventures of Augustin Marleau, the protagonist from the 1991 film The Killer Played Trombone. As in the first film, aspiring actor Marleau (Germain Houde) is still a luckless loser. While performing in a television commercial, the psychotic and wheel-chair bound Elkin (Marc Labreche) shows up and tries to shoot him. Soon afterward Marleau's old nemesis Inspector Grasselli (Raymond Bouchard) shows up to arrest Marleau for the kidnapping of some wealthy captains of industry. Grasselli doesn't have a shred of evidence linking Marleau to the crimes, but that doesn't stop him from his obsession with incarcerating Marleau. Then there is Elkin's gang, several black-clad women who stalk and torment Marleau at every turn. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A philandering wife and a sleazy womanizing con-man team up to off a troublesome father-in-law in this acid-tinged French Canadian black comedy. Leon, the con-artist makes his living cheating Catholic bingo players by hosting bogus religious pilgrimages. He is involved with a woman, but that doesn't stop him from getting involved with the frustrated Sophie who hates living in a tiny apartment with her lazy husband, her ever-gloomy teenage daughter and her husband's demanding, self-centered father, Emile. Sophie is so desperate to escape and start a new life that she convinces Leon to help her kill Emile who allegedly has $150,000 tucked away. The murder is to occur during one of Leon's pilgrimages. He convinces his son Paolo, an ex-con, to assist. Despite their careful planning, nothing prepares the would-be killers for the surprising result. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A grown woman, Solange (Pascale Bussieres) reacts with entirely understandable skepticism when Fabienne (Pascale Parouissien), a disreputable-looking woman she has never met, arrives at her doorstep and announces that she is her older sister. The first time this happens, she closes the door in her face, certain that it is a mistake. Later, she allows Fabienne into her life and her apartment, though she is still not convinced of her outrageous claim. Nonetheless, she learns a great deal about this new figure in her life. Fabienne has lost custody of her seven-year old daughter, for instance, and has had many lesbian affairs. These key revelations generally burst forth from Fabianne during her not infrequent emotional storms. In an odd touch, at certain points in the film the actors break character and discuss their own real lives and the roles they are playing in the movie. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This poignant human drama is phrased as a "small sonata" in three movements -- a novel approach by director and writer Micheline Lactôt to tell the story of two teenage girls. In the first movement, Chantal (Pascale Bussieres) rides the same bus every day and slowly develops an infatuation with the bus driver. Their interactions are expressed through gestures and glances and facial expressions, but not words. Just as Chantal is getting old enough, and maybe courageous enough to actually say something to the driver, fate steps in and she loses her chance. In the second movement, Louisette (Marcia Pilote) hides out on a fishing boat and is discovered by a Bulgarian fisherman who treats her with kindness and consideration and they spend a special evening together -- without being able to speak a word in the other's language. In the third movement, Chantal and Louisette become friends, and as kindred spirits they share a sense of loss and hopelessness -- leading to a plan of action that is dangerous to both of them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Handyman is a succinct little Canadian film dealing with those who never get what they really want because they don't know how. The title character, played by Jocelyn Berube, has convinced himself that no woman will have anything to do with him. We are shown that Berube could end his loneliness in a minute if he'd only speak up for himself. When he finally does get up the gumption to begin a romance, it's with a married woman who is as self-defeating as he. The Handyman is a film that definitely deserves a wider distribution than the wine-and-cheese circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rape, the practice of female genital mutilation in Africa, and the legal system in most countries which shames rape victims rather than their abusers, are the subjects of this drama. In the story, a woman is making a film about the rape of a single woman but is also interviewing a series of rape victims. As she edits her film, she and her assistant discuss it. All of the rapists are symbolically united in one man's portrait, as enacted by Germain Houde. Real-life documentation is intermingled with reenactments and symbolic scenes to make this an extraordinarily harrowing viewing experience. The main character is unable to deal with the aftermath of her victimization, and she eventually commits suicide. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Making a rare visit to Canada, Claude Chabrol cowrote and directed the low-pressure psychological melodrama Blood Relatives (Les Liens de sang). Donald Sutherland and Donald Pleasence head the cast in this story of the aftermath of a brutal murder. The victim, a 17-year-old girl, was apparently raped before she died, leading Carella (Sutherland) to believe that she was killed by a sex maniac. Pedophile Doniac (Pleasence) tops the suspect list, but don't be too sure. The truth is much "closer to home" than anyone realizes at first. Lisa Langlois, who made something of a career of Canadian scare flicks, makes her screen debut in Blood Relatives; also appearing, is Chabrol's wife Stephane Audran. Blood Relatives was based on a novel by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter), of 87th Precinct fame; the film was released in the US in 1981, three years after its completion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide