FIFEM’09 Children’s Film Festival Preview
Today, the 12th edition of FIFEM (Montreal International Children’s Films Festival) begins, sponsored by Télé-Québec, Desjardins, Cinéma Beaubien and Renaud-Bray. On the program, from February 28th until March 8th is a wide variety of films aimed at younger audiences; these include animated, and live-action feature films and shorts from here and abroad. Films start every day in the morning and usually have their last showing around 5pm so as to let families head home for supper. The fact that it’s timed with the school break is no coincidence. Read more »
Tags: Festival International du Film pour Enfants de Montréal, FIFEM'09
Film Festivals | 
February 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Subtlety is not the strong point of Maman est chez le coiffeur; and though it has been receiving some attention for the performances of its adults (Céline Bonnier is nominated for Supporting Actress at the Jutra awards), the kids deserve all the praise for keeping the film afloat. Léa Pool’s latest is a tale about a typical town in the 1960s. The film reveals many of the disorders, gender choices and disabilities common in the discourse of today, but bottled up or secluded back then. It must be commended for its attempt to bring light to persistent realities of the human condition, even if the venture comes off a bit too strong. 
Three days remain in the premiere Québecois film festival, and for those yet to sample the films of 2008 and 2009, these last are not to be missed. What distinguishes the Rendez-vous du cinema québecois from others festivals in the city is that the majority of directors, producers, writers and stars are present at the screenings (oftentimes they are just a metro ride away), offering invaluable feedback for film fans. 
It is with great patience that one can come to appreciate Rafaël Ouellet’s sophomore effort, Derrière moi (Behind Me). It borrows heavily from the domain of independent film we have come to expect from countries like Romania. The camerawork is handheld and imperfect, and tends to hold on scenes for extended periods of time, as if trying to catch something spontaneous. While the start is relatively slow and its direction frustratingly unclear, the allure of the relationship between the leads and an ending that is as abrupt as it is enlightening made this a surprise - and one that I only started to really appreciate mid-viewing. 
The summer of 1969 was abound with wonder. Humankind landed on the moon and hundreds of thousands celebrated peace and love at Woodstock. For a summer of firsts, Martin, 12, only has an interest in the first season of the Montréal Expos and making the local baseball team. Un été sans point ni coup sûr is a movie all about baseball, but moreso about a father-son relationship; because there actually is very little baseball played, and the little there is really isn’t terribly interesting. As light summer family fare, it’s worth a look. ‘Cute’ may best describe Francis Leclerc’s latest. 
Kiki Labreche at 12, at 20 and at 30, is Borderline, self diagnosed in the first chapters of a novel she has been attempting to write for years. Her inability to complete the autobiographical story mimics her own emotional block in life. Unable to cry or keep a stable relationship, Kiki instead turns to sex and alcohol. The narrative spans three stages of her life, from a serious young girl having to care for a psychotic mother and grandmother, to a twenty year-old attention-seeker, to a thirty year-old recluse attempting to cope with addiction. Isabelle Blais’ portrayal of her is charismatic and Lyne Charlebois’ directing is clever in a streamlined post-modern kind of way. 
From its early days, the NFB’s documentaries have had distinctly stunning cinematography and unique focus on individuals. Luc Bourdon’s La memoire des anges (The Memory of Angels) celebrates this history. Without voice over narration, new footage or music compositions, Bourdon’s film is a montage of sounds and visuals of Montreal from the 1950s to the 1970s, comprised of excerpts of over 100 documentaries from their archives. While the project is interesting from an academic perspective, the result is a film with very little universal appeal, and as it drags on begins to feel all a little pointless. 
C’est pas moi, je le jure! (It’s Not Me, I Swear!) is the latest Quebecois film about growing up in the 60s and 70s and the best of the lot since C.R.A.Z.Y. Its main actor, Antoine L’Ecuyer looks like another Culkin brother, and the character he plays, Leon, feels like a more disturbed version of Antoine Doinel from Truffaut’s The 400 Blows. Based on a series of books by Bruno Hebert and directed by Philippe Falardeau, it is an outwardly quirky and funny film about otherwise troublesome matters, and despite its seeming influences holds its own as a great installement in the genre of ‘problem child’ portraits. 
Tonight marks the launch of the Rendez-vous du cinema quebecois running through to the end of the month. While the big tickets for most will include known Quebecois stars and directors, the real treat for filmgoers is discovering new talent and experiencing new audio/visual pleasures from our home province. One such discovery is director Denis Cote who has two films playing at the festival. Elle veut le chaos shot entirely in B&W and about a woman dealing with her psychologically unstable mother has the distinction of having been named one of Cahiers du Cinema film critic Jean-Michel Frodon’s top ten films of 2008. 
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