Pierre Lebeau

  • La rage de l’ange [Angel’s Rage] (2006)

    La rage de l’ange [Angel’s Rage] (2006)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On Cable TV, November 2018) Even by the permissive standards of French-Canadian cinema, La rage de l’ange is a bit of an oddball. Written and directed by Dan Bigras, often best known as a singer with an extensive street history, it’s a highly melodramatic tragedy about three young people in desperate circumstances, drawn to the Montréal underworld even if it offers no way out. Coming from a filmmaker with considerable experience in combining poetry with slang, it’s not a surprise if the film ends up stuck on two different registers, occasionally bringing high language to low surroundings (such as Pierre Lebeau’s memorable “Pope”, spouting pretentious philosophy from a barstool) and high tragedy to a contemporary setting. Socially engaged, it’s a movie that touches upon a bewildering number of issues ranging from prostitution, sexual abuse, homosexuality, street gangs and the normalization of violence. There is no happy ending in sight for the young protagonists at any point in the film, and the blunt-force approach of the film isn’t made for subtlety. As the title suggests, they could have been angels in other circumstances. If there’s an audience for this respectable but not enjoyable film, it may be less the street kids and more the suburban liberals wanting their most heartfelt prejudices confirmed.

  • Séraphin: un homme et son péché [Séraphin: Heart Of Stone] (2002)

    Séraphin: un homme et son péché [Séraphin: Heart Of Stone] (2002)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On DVD, March 2004) I don’t usually respond very well to manipulative tearjerkers or works glorifying Quebec’s rural history, which makes Séraphin all the more surprising. Yes, it’s shameless in how it sets up a tragic love triangle between manly hero, selfless heroine and sadistic villain. But just as you think that it’s never going to work… it does. Quasi-parody scenes turn out well and the film is involving even as it’s playing all of the obvious cards. The lead trio (Roy Dupuis, Karine Vanasse and Pierre Lebeau) does excellent work, but it’s the cinematography of the film that steals the show; the historical re-creation of the era is top-notch, with plenty of telling details and beautiful shots. Charles Binamé’s direction is constantly interesting and even the most ridiculous moments (ah, tastefully-placed sunlight…) are effective. I’m not sure how foreign audiences will respond to a romance set in 1890 rural Québec, but even I am surprised at how well it played to me.

    (Second viewing, On TV, July 2022) Being able to revisit a film after nearly two decades is also an opportunity to measure what could be laughably called personal growth. Compared to my first impressions of Séraphin: Un homme et son pêché, I’m far more lenient on the film today. It’s still manipulative, overdone, ridiculously over-dramatic. Except that I don’t care as much, and I’m more willing to look elsewhere in what the film manages to accomplish. I suppose I’m also a bit more comfortable with my French-Canadian heritage than I was—and in that light, Séraphin presents the kind of glossy take on Quebec’s history that’s not unpleasant to have as a cultural artifact. I still have issues with the film—in particular, it misses a great opportunity to showcase the death of its antagonist like in the original novel (a far better image than the one that concludes the film). But I can’t help but link this version of the classic terroir story to Maria Chapdelaine, another dramatized piece of Quebec’s rural history that has often been presented on-screen: it’s not a bad thing to have such pieces of folklore around, even if it reinforces a backward-looking vision of French Canada that I don’t particularly care for: it’s not meant to be the last word nor even any kind of statement. But it allows viewers to slip into a fantasy version of a remote village with the town villain; the poor oppressed heroine; the virtuous hero coming back from logging work; the venal priest; the town businessman; the foreign-educated powerhouse upsetting everything in the village. Add La Postière to a screening of Séraphin and Maria Chapdelaine for a thoroughly entertaining vision of rural Quebec in film. Maybe one good enough to show to les étrangers!