How much did it cost to make this original film? At first glance, not much I guess, which I deduce put financial tensions off and brought calm to the shooting. It is refreshing to see a film in which a passing cloud is as important as the central speech and no one stops the shot because the light changed... Even a strange blur in the left corner of the first shot (which could well have been a dirty lens) becomes a trait and is repeated in other takes.
And what does this filmmaker who makes (real) auteur cinema in Canada bring this time? A very curious reflection on the relationship between man and woman, in which the man loses. For being an idiot. Antonin's verbal exchanges are with his sister, his wife, his mistress, a tax collector, and a victim of one of his thefts. Because to top it all in his miserable life, he has become a thug. All expectations of him becoming a writer or filmmaker disappeared and he lives off robbery and extortion.
However, the women are as idiots as he is, with postures and clothes that illustrate the state of their minds: the sister is represented as a rigid mannequin, the wife and sister wear 19th century costumes, and the tax collector a 70's pink pant suit. The one who is not in Bosnia is in Siberia... The only clever character is Aurora, the victim and the youngest, a free girl who studies theology and likes music and dancing. Antonin's encounters with each woman constitute the entire film.
But ingenious Côté does not use living rooms, bars, cafes or bedrooms. Zero decors. Everything is registered outdoors in beautiful natural settings in Quebec. Each dialogue is a tableau, recorded several meters from the actors, without cuts and I imagine with a lot of improvisation by the cast. A creative delirium. Côté leaves the close-ups for the resolution... if there is a resolution. And I must confess that I was extremely moved by the face of Maxim Gaudette, allowing us to see Antonin's drama up close.
Although some viewers will find difficult to watch «Hygiène sociale», it is an exceptional film from a director with no commitments to large production or distribution companies pressuring him to make movies that sell.
