ROBERT LEPAGE

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB.5. 

Original title:  Le Confessionnal

Canada/United Kingdom/France, 1995.  Canal+ Productions, Centre National de la Cinématographie, Channel Four Films, Cinéa, Cinémaginaire Inc., Enigma Productions, European Co-production Fund, Gouvernement du Québec, Société Générale des Industries Culturelles du Québec, Téléfilm Canada.  Screenplay by Robert Lepage.  Cinematography by Alain Dostie.  Produced by Philippe Carcassonne, David Puttnam, Denise Robert.  Music by Sacha Puttnam.  Production Design by Francois Laplante.  Costume Design by Barbara Kidd.  Film Editing by Emmannuelle Castro.  

Robert Lepage’s feature debut is a stunning mystery masterpiece. Two brothers (Lothaire Bluteau, Patrick Goyette) reunite after not having seen each other for many years when they must attend their father’s funeral in Quebec. They decide that it is high time they investigated some age-old family secrets, namely the ones that deal with their own origins. Their probing takes them back to 1952 Quebec, during the time when Alfred Hitchcock was filming his suspense film I Confess starring Montgomery Clift in their beautiful city. Fascinating and complex, this is still Lepage’s best film and one of the best to come out of French Canada in years.

Toronto International Film Festival:  1995