Le nèg'

I saw this movie at the Toronto International Film Festival. One violent night in rural Quebec is recalled by four different people, each recounting a different version of the details. Each story is told in a different film style. I laughed, I cried, I was totally surprised. Good show.

Robert Morin is mostly known for doing videos with the Coop Video de Montreal. His films are generally rude and free from esthetic conventions. With this new movie, Morin doesn't win is bet at all. Racism should be denounced, following his words, while the piece is mostly made of cursing words. Yet, a few characters, like the doctor, are truly funny. Count the detective on too. But otherwise, Le Neg' is superficial since it avoids the real questions about racism.

Honestly, it isn't with movies of that type that Quebec's cinema is going to make us proud. And those characters, while they may exist, are not representative of the average people. Fact is that in this province, every social group is in minority: French people compared to English Canadians, English Montrealers compared to French People and others compared to the two above... There would have been something much more intelligent to do about such a subject.

I have just come back from watching Le Nèg' and I was thoroughly impressed with the film as a whole. As a film student in Ottawa, I am exposed to many films including Quebecois films, to which this stands out. The acting done by all actors differentiate from each other so uniquely that it brings the film up to an entire different level. This is intertwined with captivating shots that Morin uses to include the audience within each character. The use of extreme close-ups is tastefully done, focusing on specific areas of the face. The film is partly seen through the eyes of a mentally handicapped character playing with his toy figurines, which ultimately tells the story. In all, Morin's Le Nèg is a captivating film with humouristic elements to cook up a powerful, yet thoughtful piece of cinema.

This film does not denounce racism. It's a miss. I cannot recommend this creation. I really think I lost my time watching it. Sorry Mr. Morin... If Robert Morin continues directing he should let others write the stories.

Le Nèg' is a cruelly powerful movie about intolerance. It is violent and dark, while still being strewn with humour (but I believe most of that humour will only be understood by French Canadians - Anyhow, see it subtitled). The actors do an extraordinary job (the dialogues where for the most part improvised), especially Emmanuel Bilodeau who is very convincing and it was clearly a great pleasure to see Beatrice Picard and René-Daniel Dubois. The emotions are very present and well represented, and the different ways the scenes were filmed bring a lot to the movie. Also, the allegoric part with the figurines and «Donnez-moi des roses» (of Fernand Gignac) is really a delight!

A movie you must see!