Bonheur d'occasion

First of all, let me say that Gabrielle Roy's novel THE TIN FLUTE(or BONHEUR D'OCCASION) is a thematic forerunner of and, perhaps, an inspiration to Frank McCourt's ANGELA'S ASHES. The two stories deal with the poverty of the working class, war as a job opportunity, sickly children, and the effect of premarital sex on devout Catholic communities in the 1940s. All you have to do is substitute Ireland with Quebec. Although the Canadian novel is, I feel, superior, the film is inferior. Anyone expecting the crispness and humour of Alan Parker's ANGELA'S ASHES from Fournier's TIN FLUTE will be disappointed. Fournier did much better with his story about First Nations warrior Almighty Voice in his film ALIEN THUNDER. Although slow paced like THE TIN FLUTE, it at least attempts at humour to alleviate the sombre subject matter. The film does have some neat Hitchcockian film techniques like when Rose-Anna's(Marilyn Lightstone) scream is superimposed with a train whistle when she sees her husband wearing an army uniform. However, these moments are few and far between and the sensitivity of Roy's novel melts into melodramatic drivel. If you get a chance to see this film(made in two parts for CBC television, in English and in French), don't be surprised if you experience deja vu.

The story is set as the war starts to rage in Europe. It follows years of depression in Montreal. Life is miserable in working class neighborhood like Saint-Henri. Some aspire to something better, maybe even a life at the other end of the city, Westmount, where rich people live. It's a great story by Gabrielle Roy, but not a great film by Claude Fournier. The movie wants to be a tear-jerker, but except with a few scenes, fails to be. The acting is mediocre. Some lines seem to be delivered by high-school drama students. All the actors in this movie have had better performances. And the director seems to pay little attention to details: it's always the same streetcar (#200) and it's always going by right when you need it. For all those reasons, "Bonheur d'occasion" is not a memorable film, even if it had the potential to be.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on January 9th, 2005. I first saw it in a French class while in high school, in Hearst (Ontario), about 15 years ago.

69/100 (**)