Maxime Le Flaguais and the young Lilou Roy-Lanouette form a lovable father-daughter duo in the film rodeoa tender and touching initiation story brought to life magnificently by director Joëlle Desjardins Paquette.
• Also read: A first major role in cinema for Maxime Le Flaguais
A fan of truck rodeos, Serge (Maxime Le Flaguais) always dreamed of bringing his 9-year-old daughter Lily (Lilou Roy-Lanouette) to Alberta to introduce her to the legendary Badlands World’s Best Truck Rodeo, the biggest festival of the world truckers in the country. Especially since Serge has not often had the opportunity to spend time with Lily’s mother since the separation.
And unfortunately, the relationship between Serge and his ex doesn’t seem to be improving. After a heated argument with her new boyfriend, Serge realizes he is at risk of losing custody of Lily. So, on a whim, he decides to pick her up at her karate class to tell her he’s taking her on a trip to the Badlands rodeo in his Kenworth truck.
Serge swears to Lily that he got his mother’s permission for this trip. But the truth is, he secretly orchestrated his plan without telling anyone to spend time with his daughter. Initially excited about the idea of this father-daughter journey, Lily will show signs of concern as the journey progresses. And Serge, as for him, will begin to regret his gesture, realizing that vice is gradually closing around him.
promising
Raised by a father who worked at Kenworth for 50 years, director Joëlle Desjardins Paquette drew inspiration from childhood memories to co-write this promising first feature film with Sarah Lévesque. The filmmaker, who obviously knows her subject well, paints an uncompromising portrait of the world of trucking, bringing both suspense and poetry to her story.
The fact that his film touches our hearts is mainly due to the natural play of his acting duo. In his first film role since Piché: Between Heaven and Earth in 2010, Maxime Le Flaguais impresses as an impulsive father who multiplies wrong decisions out of love for his daughter.
As for the young Lilou Roy-Lanouette, discovered a few years ago in Mariloup Wolfe’s Jouliks, she bursts the screen in the skin of this adorable little girl, but torn between her two parents.
rodeo ★★★1⁄2
A film by Joëlle Desjardins Paquette
With Maxime Le Flaguais and Lilou Roy Lanouette