The film Solo by Sophie Dupuis largely dominated my weekend, the most “cultural” for a long time.
Last weekend took me to the theater twice, then to the cinema and ended on Sunday with a long evening of watching TV. A magnificent evening like no other: TVA presents its two master shows “The Masked Singers” and “Révolution” in return for the Gémeaux Gala. They certainly won by knockout against a gala that the Academy wanted to be “gender-inclusive” and which turned out to be quite chaotic in terms of the awarding of trophies and, thank you very much, quite unsettling in terms of voting. When it comes to animation, Pierre-Yves Lord has done well and he deserves to be called back to the helm next year.
IN THE NOUVEAU MONDE THEATER
My weekend started very well as I wanted to see Courville by Robert Lepage at the Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde. The play was loosely inspired by the Quebec writer and director’s youth and was first performed at the Théâtre Diamant in a version lasting more than three hours. Reduced to two hours, it captivated me from start to finish. Firstly through the technical masterpieces that result, through the ingenuity of the production and finally through the skill of the manipulators to whom the puppets owe their lives.
I didn’t feel the same emotion as I did in this other room where Lepage relives his childhood memories (887 Murray Avenue). Undoubtedly because the stage apparatus in Courville is just as heavy as the handling of the puppets is slow and complex. But it is also thanks to these dolls that our view of a tormented teenager and his surroundings remains unprejudiced. Little by little, an almost tender relationship develops with these characters made of wood and fabric, so much so that the show ends with us wanting even more.
Since I have great affection for the wonderful actress Violette Chauveau (who is almost a friend), I blame Olivier Choinière for dragging her into the grotesque adventure of The Last Cassette Quat’Sous poster. Anyone who loved André Brassard, the director of “Les Belles-sœurs” and so many other plays, or would like to get to know him better, has a great interest in not watching “The Last Tape.” It makes him a reductive and almost clownish character.
SOLO DESERVES MORE THAN AN OSCAR
Culture and entertainment enthusiasts should instead buy a ticket to Solo, the extraordinary film written and directed by Sophie Dupuis. If you (like me) are fed up with drag queens taking up so much space on television and radio, especially Radio-Canada, you shouldn’t let the subject matter of this third feature film by Sophie Dupuis stop you. Although the film is set in a drag queens club, it explores with rare precision the harrowing relationship between a son in search of affection and an absent but famous mother (Anne-Marie Cadieux).
Above all, it is the heartbreaking story of a heightened love passion between a young man in need of love and a cynical and manipulative being. French actor Félix Maritaud blatantly plays the vile narcissistic pervert Olivier. Théodore Pellerin, who plays Simon, flies in all directions throughout the film. Solo was named best Canadian film in Toronto on Sunday. For me it is an Oscar that he deserves as much as Théodore Pellerin, a stunning actor who is in a class of his own.
