GHYSLAINE COTE

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB.5.  

Original title:  Elles Etaient Cinq

Canada, 2004.  Remstar Productions, Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm, Forum Films, Telefilm Canada, SODEC, Crédit d’Impôt Cinéma et Télévision, The Movie Network, Super Ecran, Radio Canada Télévision, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.  Screenplay by Chantal Cadieux, contributing writer Ghyslaine Cote.  Cinematography by Alexis Durand-Brault.  Produced by Robert Lalonde, Maxime Remillard.  Music by Normand Corbeil.  Production Design by Richard Marchand.  Costume Design by Jean-Francois Desjardins.  Film Editing by Richard Comeau.  

32 year-old Montreal stockbroker Manon is getting ready for a date with the office Romeo when she has a teenage memory flashback to the devastating summer that changed her life. In order to get past the trauma, she reconnects with her three best friends, with whom she spent summers at the cottage from when they were little girls, in an attempt to rehash the past and move forward with her life. This lovely film by Ghyslaine Cote hits all the right points in an efficient manner, striking up chords of nostalgia, humour and pure tragedy before a satisfying conclusion. The actresses who play the young women as both teenagers and adults do a superb job with both, with Jacinthe Laguë particularly standing out in the lead.