SIFF Press Screening - Crying Out

Unlike many pass holders at SIFF I do not get a great deal of time off to take advantage of the press screenings, but I was thrilled that the one day I did get to attend, they were showing a film from Quebec.  My love of film was honed while going to school in Montreal, and I have a soft spot for all things Quebecois. 

Like Quebec itself this film is a unique combination of themes and tones. The guide describes it as "a quasi-surrealistic road movie" with "dark secrets and deadpan humor" which is very accurate.  It is a blend of pain, joy, exasperation, catharsis

The movie opens with a scene that was the most uncomfortable five minutes I have ever spent in a movie theatre, the off camera sexual abuse of a young boy.  The boy grows up to be "The Son" played by Patrick Hivon.  Interestingly the main characters, the Son, the Father, and the Grandfather are never mentioned by name.

The present day story begins with the death of the Father's second wife.   His grief drives him to run away with his wife's body.   The family thinks that the Grandfather and Son should track him down.   Each of them is dealing with their own pain - the Grandfather with his aging, the father with his grief, and the son with his unexpressed childhood trauma.   The situations and individuals they encounter in the journey across the open countryside of Quebec provide moments of humor, pain, anger, and ultimately compassion and hope.

I enjoyed this movie, however for those unfamiliar with French and French Canadian colloquialisms, the translation misses some of the emotional depth.