Les ordres

It really happened. it was October 1970. Wartime law was voted in Canada. Not Bosnia, not Congo, not Cosovo, not Albania. Canada. At dawn, 400 individuals were arrested in Montréal and held in jail for weeks without charges nor explanation. This masterpiece by Michel Brault tells about it. Wether you see it to understand current canadian news or to reflect on freedom or to see an excellent thriller, I doubt you'll regret it. A must for communication students.

Les ordres (Orderers) is about a dark period of Canada (more specifically Quebec) that the rest of the world might not be familiar with. Its message is so universal, it points out how precarious our rights are, and how even in a free, and democratic country such things can happen. It takes a lot of original choices concerning the use of color and the introduction of characters, but it is also what makes that film unique and memorable.

In October, 1970, Canada's War Measures Act allowed authorities to arrest and imprison anybody that they suspected of domestic terrorism in association with the FLQ (Front de Libération du Québec). As a result, over four-hundred innocent Montreal citizens were wrongly incarcerated. Fifty of them gave their stories to director-writer Michel Brault. From their stories, five composite characters were created for "Les Ordres": a unionized labourer (Clermont Boudreau) and his wife (Hélène Loiselle) who are raising three school-age daughters; an unemployed father (Claude Gauthier) who cares for a baby and toddler at home; a social worker (Louise Forestier) who advocates for welfare recipients; and a doctor (Guy Provost) who has been involved in socialist politics.

Even before the arrests have begun, the story shows how bleak life is for the working-class and the poor. However, this appears relatively mild compared to the shocks that are yet to come. Brault shows brilliance in his subtlety during the arrest scenes. His level of detail for nuanced yet important actions have at least as much impact as violence does in other films especially the situations where children are to be left without a caretaker at home. And his intermingling of the various arrest scenes is done perfectly. Not only do they flow well together; they even have more impact when shown simultaneously.

The second half of the film takes place in the men's and women's prisons. While these scenes have less impact than those in the first half, the theme of a shocking injustice continues especially the abuses in the men's prison.

The performances are uniformly strong and moving. The actors convey to the audience what it would be like to enter an unexpected nightmare with apparently no end in sight.

One of the reasons this docudrama feels like a thriller is that it took place in Canada, let alone under the popular Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Considering similar incidents during the past few years (the scandalous G20 Toronto conference), it shows that certain freedoms can never be taken for granted. - dbamateurcritic

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Directing by Michel Brault

One of the great engaged movie of the seventies. This a real drama with its atmosphere from such a Kafka. The filming is very simple and precise. The actors are convincing and sincere. This particular way of sharing movie and documentary is very interesting and powerful. Michel Brault gave us once a cinema lesson in the University of Québec in Montréal. He told us to direct movie with the stomach, not only with the head. So I realized that even a great director like him could create through emotions more than spirit. So feel the movie and you'll discover soon enough what you understood through the movie. For every person who loved this movie, I recommend "Punishment Park" directed the same year by an English guy in USA, Peter Watkins. You can find this rare movie on IMDb.

...they took my friend away. A 16 years old high school kid whose sole mistake was going to a political rally mainly to see a performing artist. The weeks he spent in detention changed him forever. This film is a necessary testament so nobody forgets these dark times in Quebec's history.