Répertoire des villes disparues

Ghost Town Anthology is a weird genreless French film where a town of just 215 dwellers somewhere near Quebec in interior Canada are haunted by living ghosts after an unfortunate accident that no one knows how happened. It is more about the idiosyncratic characters in the film that you get if you manage to endure the 90 minutes of confusing plot where the optimistic mayor is not afraid of whatever the village is about to experience and majority of the citizens are scrambling to find answers. From where or who they don't know. Much like what or why that I don't know or didn't get about Ghost Town Anthology, a film where I only dug the fine, haunting score. TN.

(Watched and reviewed at its India premiere at the 21st MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.)

The more advanced horror film of these times often moves away from archaic and explicit images, such as goat heads, anthropomorphic beings, murky ectoplasms, or satanic sacrifices. In general, every horror movie thrives on something basic like fear, which, in turn, arises from a lack of knowledge of something that is threatening someone's integrity. But in a contemporary and intelligent horror film like the excellent Canadian drama «Répertoire des villes disparues», although apparitions are not lacking, its plot deals with the social collapse of human communities, when they have reached the threshold of extinction.

The film begins with the death of Simon Dubé, a 21-year-old boy, whom the community mourns and whose parting words are delivered by the mayor, giving Simon's passing a relevance that is never explained, but which in the end will be consistent with the whole story. His brother Jimmy, his mother Gisele and his father Romuald are devastated. The three begin to see Simon, who appears to them without saying a word, but those who believe them think the apparitions are a manifestation of their grief. However, when Adele, the terrified village psychic, certifies the presence of strangers in the village; and when Pierre, the local café owner, sees --inside the abandoned house that he wants to buy-- four murdered children and his father, who committed suicide after doing so, there is no doubt that the town is "at risk." The Québec authorities gather most of the 215 residents of Irénée-les-Neiges to announce that these sightings have been reported in various rural areas.

The film is somehow a magnificent metaphor for the extinction of human communities, and hence the title of the film and the novel by Québec author Laurence Olivier that inspires it. The town mine has been closed, the young people are gone, the mayor tries to cheer up the residents, but the desolation increases. And the number of entities that have been seen around increases in the almost colorless, cold town, covered in snow, where snowfalls often hit the population. Like the character of the maid Emilia in Pasolini's «Teorema», Adele is the only person who is safe, seeking refuge in her own psyche and in her own holiness.

I had never seen a film from director Denis Coté, who signs here his eighth feature film, but with this work he has gained my admiration with his unhurried and elegant style to impress the public with a ghostly and overwhelming story, well-rooted in the social realities of our times.

Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe in other dimensions? Do you believe in reincarnation? Ghost Town Anthology is a film that brings questions like this to the forefront of your consciousness. The film opens with a frigidly framed car crash, that appears to happen out of nowhere, finding a way to sneak between sounds of the wind blowing and the trees creaking. The driver of the car was Simon Dube played by Phillipe Charette, leaving behind his distraught parents Romuald played endearingly by Jean-Michel Anctil and Gisele played by Josée Deschênes. His older brother Jimmy played with skill by Robert Naylor picks the film up from his brother's death, beginning a search for his brother because in his mind he could not have just left him like that even though the audience can see that Jimmy knows the true cause of his brother's death and it was not accidental, making Jimmy's search for signs of his brother all the more heart wrenching. The father, Romuald, tells his wife Giselle he is going to buy cigarettes, ultimately leaving a note explaining that he needs time and space to mourn the death of his son. Personally the scenes that followed of the father Romuald and his grieving process were some of my favorite moments of the film and the director makes no attempt at making it clear if the father is ever going to actually return.

The director of Ghost Town Anthology, Dennis Cote has quite a vision and understanding of spiritual imagery and feeling, the sound design is something that is so unique and unnervingly special. The brilliance of it is chiefly noticeable in the fathers grieving scenes. Cote masks bleak desolate moving landscapes shot as if the camera has been mounted in a 1987 pickup truck, with sounds of wind, static, and crackling; the only difference being in the patterns the sounds play in is completely different from anything I have heard before. The film was shot in 16mm and in these brief moments the 16mm film looks much closer to 8mm film, clearly having been scratched and tampered with by the creators of the film and then developed in black and white to add to the lo-fi feelings being heavily transmitted through the film. The camera movements in these very vague almost elusive scenes is all the more interesting, if it doesn't feel like it's been mounted to a pickup truck, it feels as if it's been mounted to a wounded animal walking its way to its demise, trudging along the bare landscape.

The death of the boy sends shockwaves through the small town, ultimately becoming the sole focus of the town's mayor Simone Smallwood, played by Diane Lavallée, who appears to have one sole mission in life and that is to ensure that her town carries on its daily life, every day, with no change or help from outsiders. As a reaction to the boy's death, a political official known to Smallwood sends a psychiatrist from the "big city" to assist with the psychological effects of the boy's death in the town. The new face is quickly dismissed by the mayor who claims that the towns people is made up of "grown ups" and they can "handle themselves", leaving the story to the isolation of the few faces the audience has seen. One of the faces that is most intriguing is a woman named Adele, played by Larissa Corriveau. Adele is the type of character whom simply steals the camera because she has a look that is so unusual and uncanny. Her character is a supposed newcomer to the town, making it all the more interesting due to her severe social anxiety. Dennis Cote captures how one feels when they have social anxiety with swift minimalism, particularly in a scene early on in the film where he utilizes a tracking shot. The camera tracks Adele from the washroom of a New Year's Eve party, in the middle of a pep talk nonetheless, all the way through the party until she encounters Jimmy and his best friend Andre. The way Larissa Corriveau walks through the party, making sure to never once look in place, avoiding physical contact and eye contact is beyond an accurate depiction of social anxiety and she hits her marks perfectly. The dialogue between Adele, Jimmy and Andre is innocent and naturally dry, a true contender for the most cringe worthy moment in cinema this year.

As strange people begin to arrive in the town including Jimmy having an encounter with his recently deceased brother with no explanation and more and more of the townspeople beginning to see the people themselves the film shifts its gears to more serious questions. There are multiple scenes with supremely high tension in the gradual revealing of these strange arrivals to the town. The town's people begin to almost show frustration to their attendance, not because they are ghosts but because it further punctuates their isolation by having these people show up. What more of a reason to move to the big city than having the dead walk your neighbourhood, right? This commentary of life and death, and exposure versus isolation become very focal themes in the film and it makes for truly different cinema.

Overall the film is quite good, although at times disorganized and scattered with the plot and character development. Dennis Cote has made primarily documentaries and experimental films, having Ghost Town Anthology be considered as his first official feature film. The application of 16mm film and shaky cam prove effective in not only the setting and story but mesh perfectly with Cote's eye and style. The film feels as if it is a short film that has been extended and obviously this can be attributed to Cote's former projects. It would be interesting to see him apply his eye for human nature and psychology to something slightly less experimental. In the end Ghost Town Anthology raises lots of questions about life, death, reincarnation and having enough time, and it is a quality contribution to the supernatural genre.

I do not believe in Ghosts. But it is nice to see and read Ghost stories. But not many ghost stories are gripping these days. There is no emotional connection with the story or characters.

So nowadays it is a pleasant surprise when we come across an eerie ghost movie. Répertoire des villes disparues is such a story by Director Denis Cote.

It is a story about a small Quebec village where there are hardly 215 people staying. One day an accident takes place and a young boy of the village dies. This incident causes a small stir within the community - who commemorate the funeral of the boy, following up with a small get-together.

No one believes the boy Simon could have been so reckless in driving. There are speculation about the Simon's death - whether it was a suicide or is he still alive?

The brother, and parents await the return of Simon. The Mayor denies psychological support offered by The Federal Agency to villagers.

But within no time - people of the village discuss, feel and see things around the village that worries them.

By the end of the movie - people start leaving the village - thus the name - Ghosttown Anthology - how villages become Ghost Towns with houses but no people staying there.

As this is a village story - there is no central character who is the lead protagonist - but there are a few worth notable - The Mayor, the boy who died Simon, Simon's brother and parents, a man running a small roadside restaurant, a quirky lady who is on psychological treatment and is the first to see and experience ghostly things in her home and the village.

There are no regular cliches of ghost or horror story here which is FRESH- yet the proceedings are eerie.

Director Denis Cote has been successful in holding the narration tight.

I have seen two movies (Vic + Flo ont vu un ours and this one) of Denis Cote - and both these movies are totally different genres and he has handled them very well - I have started liking this Director Denis Cote and would like to see more of his movies in near future.

I would go with 7.5 out of 10 for this wonderful ghostly movie.

Pros: 1. The colour palette of grey, white, black, and brown helps to cement a bleak and oppressive atmosphere. 2. Robert Taylor (Jimmy Dubé), Josée Deschênes (Gisèle Dubé), Larissa Corriveau (Adèle), and Diane Lavallée (Simone Smallwood) give great performances. 3. The score brilliantly enshrines the movie in an eerily disturbing tone. 4. For the most part, the film keeps the spirit of Simon Dubé (Philippe Charrette), as well as the other spirits, out of the view of the audience. This builds up the mystery and intrigue masterfully. 5. The sound design is crisp and clear, and it highlights, and really brings forth, the theme of loneliness excellently, by emphasising just how remote the town is.

Cons: 1. There are a few plot-holes. For example, it's never explained why Adèle just starts floating mid-air. In addition, when the towns-people find out the dead are watching them, they react (mostly) as if it's normal. 2. The camera tends to jerk and shake an obscene amount of times. Surely they could have found a way to steady the camera via a tripod, or something along those lines. 3. At times, the pacing is far too slow therefore becoming a bit of a chore to get through. 4. The paranormal sub-plot and the overcoming of Simon Dubé's death plot don't mix well at all. They feel like two separate story-lines jostling for attention. In fact, the paranormal part ends up overshadowing the latter in regards to both, entertainment and memorability.