Gabrielle: sin miedo a vivir

Gabrielle (II) (2013) is a French-Canadian film written and directed by Louise Archambault.

The movie stars Gabrielle Marion-Rivard as Gabrielle, a woman with Williams Syndrome. Alexandre Landry plays Martin, her boyfriend, and Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin portrays Sophie, Gabrielle's sister.

Gabrielle has Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder. People with Williams Syndrome have mild developmental delay, and a distinctive personality and appearance.

People with Williams Syndrome are typically outgoing and friendly. They are usually very verbal and often musically talented. They meet the world with true joie de vivre. All of these characteristics are true of Gabrielle.

The physical appearance of people with Williams Syndrome is said to be "elfish." Given that nobody has actually seen an elf, it's hard to tell how we could know that someone looks like an elf. However, some anthropologists believe that the connection worked the other way. People with Williams Syndrome may have been the source of what we think of as the appearance of elves.

The plot of the film hinges on Gabrielle's growing sexuality, and Gabrielle's ability to live without the support of her sister. Sophie's partner is in India, and Sophie wants to join him. She's torn between her love for her sister and her desire to be with the man she loves. (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin is a great young actor, and she is outstanding in this role.)

Gabrielle Marion-Rivard is a person with Williams Syndrome, but she doesn't just "play herself." This is a movie, and she has to act in it. This is made very clear in a special feature documentary film My Name is also Gabrielle.

Director Archambault brilliantly constructs her movie around the very realistic problems that could, indeed, challenge Gabrielle the person. Gabrielle turns in a wonderful performance, as do all the actors--those with developmental delay and those without it.

The movie worked well on the small screen. It's a must-see if you have any interest in people with handicaps. Even if you don't have this interest, I would still recommend the film. Gabrielle has a lukewarm IMDb rating of 7.0. I thought it was much better than that, and rated it 10.

Gabrielle is a cute, borderline boring, movie.

The main actress, Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, is charming and you can't help but admire her natural talent.

The plot raises serious moral questions: should we allow mentally challenged people to have more autonomy, even if they could potentially endanger themselves ?

Should we allow them to get romantically involved and, eventually, start a family ?

The movie doesn't try to answer those.

Are there any clear cut answers, anyway ?

All of those important dilemmas are exposed, in about 30 minutes or so.

The rest is repetitive padding: the choir from Les Muses (a real-life performing arts school for the disabled) are shown rehearsing for a big event.

Again. And again. And again.

Long scenes of singing that fail to entertain, clumsily shot, in a semi-vérité style.

All of those are intercut with contemplative vignettes of Gabrielle, riding the bus or eating with her sister (the excellent Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin).

Over an hour of padding plus 30 minutes of actual plot makes for a so-so movie that could have been so much more, had the writer-director given it a bit more effort.

In the end, you get the feeling of a thin plot outline that she tried to grow into a full-length movie in the editing room.

Sadly, it didn't quite work.

This movie was about a man and a woman who experienced a handicap in their lives and when they meet each other they fall in-love with one another. The parents of these two adults were somewhat opposed to the idea of their children getting involved which is probably considered to be the tension within this French/Canadian movie. This movie is not a Hollywood movie. It is kind of on the border of being an X-rated movie because of the sexual content, and the inferred discussion around the content. Is sexuality at times mental illness? Is sexuality as private as a hallucination is to an individual experiencing it, or are they completely split? In the movie "Girl, Interrupted" it seems that sexuality is a component of a person's mental illness, if the context dictates such. For example, if an individual is considered mentally ill, then symptoms of mental illness can include sexuality. In this movie, the viewer is left with a bad taste in ones mouth, just like when watching Schindler's List when the small girl in the red dress runs through a scene and then later on the red dress is found in a heaped pile. The implications of such a profound slice shocks any audience to the point of despair. The effect of sexual privacy and it being openly exploited in this movie has the same effect of placing the movie audience in a very uncomfortable position. Perhaps this is the intention of the film-maker - to invoke a reaction from the audience, like Michael Moore often tried to do in his movies.

Love story between mentally challenged that is practically perfect. The acting is incredibly good and fresh, the story fetching. Simple but effective.

Its all about love, true love that is not seeking for perfection but for the depth of the heart. If you're doing, do that with all your spirit. Sing, treat, teach, guide and love, give to your fellow man, always from the bottom of your heart. A marvelous saying, a fabulous film. I suppose that it wouldn't have been the same without the main character of Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, acting herself, illuminating the screen with her wonderful laughter in happy moments as in sad ones. To end my review, I love so much the songs, music and lyrics, that integrates in the film beautifully. Recommended especially to the sensitive between us, who can see the beauty of being different.