Games of the XXI Olympiad
Edited from almost 100 km of film footage shot during the Games, this feature documentary is a breathtaking portrait of the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Much more than a simple record of the Games, the film approaches each event with the intention of revealing the athlete - whether winner or loser - as a unique individual.
Jean Beaudin
Marcel Carrière
Georges Dufaux
Jean-Claude Labrecque
Casts & Crew
Also Directed by Jean Beaudin
Florent Boissonneault and his young wife Elise always had one dream: own a restaurant. When they meet a strange old man, Egon Ratablavasky, their dream become reality, but only to quick turn into a nightmare when they sadly discover they had been tricked by him, and lost everything. But their dream is not dead, and a strong desire of avenging soon bring them back in business, with the help of an homeless kid, a french cook and a friendly journalist. But the old man still had trick on for them his bag...
The wife of photographer J.A. Martin decides to go with him in his tour of the hard Canadian countryside at the turn of the century. She hopes the intimacy will revive their marriage.
A professional race car driver's obsession with winning races causes communication problems between him and his wife that threaten to separate them.
It's hard to review this movie without giving anything away. Suffice it to say that it depicts the crime of one member of a gay male relationship and the desperate struggle for the lead character to make those around him understand the reason for his crime.
In this French Canadian drama, the life of a paraplegic painter implodes when an old girlfriend comes back into his life and accuses him of raping her 15 years earlier.
In the mid-18th Century, as England and France battle over control of Canada, an epic romance between a peasant woman and a trapper unfurls
Une policière, Maud Graham, suit un tueur en série qui agresse des femmes. En même temps, elle héberge un jeune prostitué et un fugueur de 12 ans. L'action se déroule dans la ville et capitale de la province du même nom, Québec.
"Though its point is somewhat vague, it is both visually and sonically one of the most compelling exercises in the tradition of lysergic films of the 60s. Sympathetic but subtly critical, Vertige presents itself as a psychological portrait of the escape and/or contestation tactics of the decade's youth: while war, violence, famine and poverty continue to devastate the planet, these youngsters seek refuge in the hedonistic haven of sexual liberation, lysergic research and communal fictions. Richly textured visuals and bold scenic montage are some of the key elements in Vertige, but it is Serge Garant's fine contemporary soundtrack, and its intimate rapport with the scenic rhythms, that catapult the film beyond the conventions of psychedelic cinema. Famed as a pioneer of contemporary music in Canada, Garant provides am eclectic score that ranges from atonal symphonic exercises to psych-rock, concrète and electroacoustic soundscapes. Excerpted from The Sound of Eye blog
During a brief stay in Florence, Camille believes she's victim of an enormous flood. Urgently taken to a psychiatric hospital, she is diagnosed with the Stendhal Syndrome: a temporary psychological disorder well known to affect tourists who are too vulnerable to the beauty of art work. This disorder which is considered benign doesn't worry the medical staff who asks that she be sent back to her country. Back home, she has to come to terms with a tragedy she has wanted to flee: her mom had gone missing right before her departure. Convinced that she has to move on with her life for her mental sanity, Camille decides that it is time to accept the fact that her mother will never come back. But when she goes to Matane, the last place where her mother had been seen alive, Camille comes across many clues that will propel her into an emotional roller coaster.
In a little village at the end of the 1890's, a young woman offends all the 'right-thinking' villagers by allowing men in her house in the absence of her husband. When he is found dead, all of the suspicion is directed towards the liberal woman. She is judged more for her morality then for the crime she is accused of. Her culpability is still a subject of debate today.
Also Directed by Marcel Carrière
The NFB filmed the table tennis competitions between teams of young Canadians and Chinese that took place in the People's Republic of China in the summer of 1973, the first time in twenty-five years that such filming was made possible. Shown are highlights of play at the China-Canada Friendship Meet, as well as some of the sightseeing taken in by the young Canadians--a visit, for example, to the Great Wall of China. Film without words.
A married man and his family take in his brother, who is coming out from a religious order. They decide to realise the old family dream, migrate to Florida. But it won't be as easy as they think.
A candid-camera view of professional wrestling as seen in the Montréal Forum, where some of the biggest bouts are staged, and in back-street wrestling parlours where the warriors practice their art.
Also Directed by Georges Dufaux
A many-faced view of humanity, of global man in all his forms and interests. Produced originally in 70 mm (with stereophonic sound) for showing at Man and His World, the Montréal fair that succeeded Expo 67, this film employs the multi-image technique. People of all places, origins, cultures, secular and religious, are here united and seen side by side, creating an impressive, inspiring and challenging portrait. The film's title appears in seven languages. Film without words.
All over North America young people are rejecting orthodoxy of all kinds and embracing new cults, new forms of self-discovery, from Krishna to bio-feedback. Group dynamics, encounter groups, transcendental meditation, Eastern philosophy, communal living, return-to-nature, re-energized evangelism--all are roads to salvation according to the individual's belief. This film takes a discerning look at them all, from Canada to California.
A short 1960 documentary about physical fitness trends in the big city. Here you see modern man brought to bay by his own poundage, resolved to erase by exercise what rich food, idleness and age have put on.
Also Directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque
Reflections on writing, life and death with French Canadian poet Marie Uguay, who would die of bone cancer shortly after the making of this film.
On your marks. Follow cyclists from 13 countries as they cover 2 400 km of Gaspé countryside in 12 days-a course longer than those of Italy, Belgium or Spain. The long shots of curving landscape and open road are set to a mesmerizing soundtrack in this documentary, and the results are spellbinding.
Continuing a saga that began with his previous, 1978 film, Vautours director Jean-Claude Labrecque returns with the French Canadian, Louis Pelletier and puts him in the context of the growing separatist movement in the late 1960s in Quebec. At that time, supporters of an independent Quebec began to consolidate their power under the Parti Québecois -- and the story of Louis and his wife Claudette are meant to illustrate this watershed in Quebec's history. As the film begins, Claudette and Louis are about to get married -- and their wedding day significantly coincides with preparations for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Years later, they are well-established in Montreal and are enjoying visits from their family -- and then their lives start to deteriorate. Louis is suddenly out of work, and as he faces the difficulties of finding another job -- and of living precariously -- he becomes more radical, less accepting of the status quo.
In this French Canadian film, when the provincial government tries to move two young farmers from their land to make way for development, the two fight back, accidentally killing a policeman and becoming outlaws in the process.
Although he is something of a layabout, and is still living with his mother, her death comes as something of a shock to Louis Pelletier (Gilbert Sicotte). Still, he has hopes of some sort of legacy and believes that his relatives will help him find a job. All his hopes are dashed when, before the funeral, his three aunts come to Quebec City to settle their sister's estate. As grasping and efficient a crew as ever strode a parlor, by the time they leave, the estate has been cleaned to the bones, as if by vultures.
Filmed for the most part from a low-flying aircraft, this documentary short presents a breathtaking view of Canada from coast to coast. Showing the varied terrain, from craggy coast to towering glacier, the film illustrates Canada’s pristine wilderness as well as today's industrial and urban realities. Canada the Land was specially commissioned for the Canada Pavilion at the Osaka World Fair in 1970.