Robert Lepage Movies

This performance of Wagner's opera Die RWalkure recorded at the Metropolitan Opera House features vocalists such as Bryn Terfel, Deborah Voigt, Jonas Kaufman, and Stephanie Blythe in the leading roles. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

This performance of Wagner's opera Siegfried recorded at the Metropolitan Opera House features vocalists such as Bryn Terfel, Deborah Voigt, Jay Hunter Morris, and Gerhard Seigel in the leading roles. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

The Brussels based La Monnaie - De Munt mounted and launched this production of Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress, directed by Robert LePage. This particular version updates the familiar setting of vice-ridden London to 1950s Las Vegas, with set designs heavily influenced by postwar American television. Laura Claycomb, Andrew Kennedy and William Shimell co-star; The Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of La Monnaie - De Munt provide musical accompaniment. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Quebecois actor and filmmaker Luc Picard takes the helm for this Genie Award-winning drama about an actor in search of the perfect role, and the pregnant girlfriend forced to make a life-changing decision. Forty-year old Louis (Picard) is a loud-mouthed repo-man who has nurtured a lifelong dream of becoming a successful actor. Fortunately for Louis his cousin is a casting agent, and he soon learns that local producers are seeking to fell the role of a father videotaping a final message for his two year-old son. Lately the strain of his job has been wearing not only on Louis, but his frustrated girlfriend Suzie (Suzanne Clement) as well. When Suzie discovers that she is pregnant, she immediately begins pondering the prospect of leaving Louis to raise the pair's child in a more stable environment. Though she hesitates to break the news to Louis for fear of how he will react, the news soon gets out when Louis spots Suzie showing off baby clothes to her circle of friends. When Suzie discovers that Louis has been practicing for the audition in secret and has since won the role, she determines to stick out the relationship just the low-level criminal's sordid past threatens to catch up with him in the most devastating manner imaginable. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A man pondering the unrecognized aspects of space travel has more than a few problems to contend with on Earth in this French Canadian drama. Phillippe (Robert Lepage) is "professional student" who lives with his ailing mother (Anne-Marie Cadieux) in a small, run-down apartment in Quebec. Phillippe has spent years working on his doctoral thesis, which looks at the philosophical and emotional consequences of the race into space between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1960s and '70s. Phillippe just barely supports himself as a telemarketer, his cold-calling has put him in touch with a former girlfriend who isn't especially happy to hear from him, and an attempt to discuss his research with a former Russian cosmonaut has near-disastrous results. Phillippe also has to put up with his younger brother André (also played by Lepage), a television weather announcer who has money, a small degree of fame, a handsome boyfriend, and almost no respect for Phillippe. As his mother's health takes a severe turn for the worst, Phillippe's luck seems to have changed at last when he's invited to Russia to discuss his recently published thesis on the space program, but André is not willing to help look after their mother. Far Side of the Moon (aka La Face Cachée de la Lune) was written, directed, and edited by leading man Lepage, who adapted the script from his own stage play. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A man moves across space and time to do the right thing for the woman he loves in this sci-fi-tinged fantasy thriller. George (Tom McCamus) is a man who possesses an unusual level of awareness -- he not only understands that people exist in parallel worlds at once, but also is able to experience several of his alternate lives at once, even remembering what happened on one plane of existence while functioning in another. This is as much of a curse as a blessing for George; his wife Joyce (Tilda Swinton) was murdered in one life, and he finds himself thrown from one life to another, in which he encounters Joyce's other lives while he searches for her killer. As we're introduced to George, he's been murdered and his brain has been removed from his body; Berkley (Sean McCann), a veteran police detective, is assigned to investigate the killing with his less experienced partner, Williams (Rick Miller). Berkley and Williams are eventually led to a laboratory run by an eccentric scientist who performs odd experiments on animal brains and studies the effects of sensory deprivation. Meanwhile, George still lives in another parallel world, where he meets Joyce again -- not once, but twice. Possible Worlds was based on the play by John Mighton, who also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this French thriller, an actress wins the role of a murder victim in a film based on the true story of an unsolved crime. She discovers her neighbor was the lover of the woman who was murdered in real life -- and is still a suspect. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Six short movies by six successful Canadian directors are gathered in this anthology film, commissioned to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Montréal in 1992. The first film, directed by Patricia Rozema, humorously follows a bewildered Toronto housewife as she frantically attempts to enjoy her visit to this aggressively French-speaking city. She knows only English and must on one occasion resort to following the film's subtitles in order to understand what is happening. The second short feature by director Jacques Leduc attempts to encapsulate more than three centuries of history in brief documentary form. The third feature by Michel Brault parallels the action in a hockey game at the Montréal Forum with the divorce games of a young couple. In the next feature by Atom Egoyan, a lonely tourist experiences communication only from the headset narration provided by his electronic walking tour device. An automobile accident provides the occasion, in the next segment by Pierre Mignot, for a woman to have her life flash before her eyes. Finally, Denys Arcand shows an important governmental representative is quite innocently mangling the introductions being made to him as he stands in the receiving line of a cocktail party. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This arty Canadian film is adapted from Robert Lepage's successful 1988 stageplay and more traditional cinematic scenes. The story centers on Montreal art student Madeleine and her unhealthy romantic relationship with Professor Jacques. Trouble comes when Jacques abruptly leaves, offering Madeleine no explanation for his departure. Distraught and blaming herself, Madeleine decides to travel to Venice to kill herself. Once there, Madeleine encounters the drug-addicted Constance, who gives the graduate student a new perspective on the situation. While Madeleine reassembles her life, Jacques too has made some major changes. After moving to New York, he begins wearing women's clothing and calling himself Jennifer. As Jennifer, Jacques becomes a popular talk-show host. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi