Sonatine (1984 film)
| Sonatine | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Micheline Lanctôt |
| Written by | Micheline Lanctôt |
| Produced by | Pierre Gendron |
| Starring | Marcia Pilote Pascale Bussières Pierre Fauteux Kliment Denchev Pierre Girard |
| Cinematography | Guy Dufaux |
| Edited by | Louise Surprenant |
| Music by | François Lanctôt |
Production company | Corporation Image M & M |
| Distributed by | Les Films René Malo |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | French |
Sonatine is a 1984 Canadian drama film written and directed by Micheline Lanctôt.[1] The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 57th Academy Awards,[2] but was not accepted as a nominee.[3]
The film centres on two young girls, Chantal (Pascale Bussières) and Louisette (Marcia Pilote), who become disillusioned with the world of adults and plan a suicide pact.[4] Lanctôt structured the film as a triptych, with one segment devoted to each of the two girls as an individual, going through the experiences that cause them to lose faith in humanity, before they plan the suicide pact in the third segment.[5] Lanctôt admitted that she had written the screenplay at a time when she was very depressed.[6]
The film premiered in February 1984 before opening commercially in March.[7]
Cast[edit]
- Marcia Pilote as Louisette
- Yves Jacques as The Subway Station Janitor
- Pierre Giard
- Pierre Fauteux as Fernand
- Kliment Dentchev as Bulgarian seaman
- Pascale Bussières as Chantal
Awards[edit]
The film received five Genie Award nominations at the 6th Genie Awards in 1985, for Best Director (Lanctôt), Best Actress (Bussières), Best Screenplay (Lanctôt), Best Costume Design (Hélène Schneider), Best Original Score (François Lanctôt).[8] Micheline Lanctôt won the award for Best Director.[9]
The film won the now-defunct Silver Lion for Best First Film (1983-1987) at the 41st Venice International Film Festival.[10]
See also[edit]
- List of submissions to the 57th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References[edit]
- ^ "Canadian Film Encyclopedia: Sonatine". TIFF. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ^ "Quebec's Sonatine enters Oscar race". The Globe and Mail, January 11, 1985.
- ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- ^ Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN 1-894073-21-5. p. 202.
- ^ Carole Corbeil, "Quebec films blessed with visual assurance". The Globe and Mail, September 12, 1984.
- ^ Jay Scott, "Prize-winning director hasn't given up acting". The Globe and Mail, September 12, 1984.
- ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "Sonatine – Film de Micheline Lanctôt". Films du Québec, December 17, 2009.
- ^ Jay Scott, "Bay Boy reels in 11 Genie nominations". The Globe and Mail, February 15, 1985.
- ^ Bruce Bailey, "Daniel Petrie's 'Bay Boy' harbors six Genie Awards". Montreal Gazette, March 22, 1985.
- ^ "Lanctot wins award for Sonatine". The Globe and Mail, September 10, 1984.
