jason-886 Reviews

Carmel (2009)

my thoughts, even though I fell asleep and left early

[1/10 · 21 September 2009]

I saw this at TIFF09. It was absolutely terrible! The opening was a lower-than-History Channel-quality war sequence with warriors looking like they were laughing, with lame images superimposed on top and a woman reciting a poem in French for some reason.

I have no idea what this film was about. The scenes were long and mostly single-takes. One of the first was really good, showing soldiers who clearly didn't give a sh*t. The next was of two men having two distinctly different conversations at the same time, each on his own, but talking to each other.

Then I awoke to another terrible war scene, but the soundtrack sounded like he had pressed the "play demo" key on a crappy 80's synthesizer. That is when I left, and I was far from the first to do so.

C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

A new favourite!

[9/10 · 4 January 2006]

I watched this DVD twice within a few days, I loved it so much. C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallée) is at once a coming-of-age story, family drama, coming out story and religious fable. It centers around Zachary, born on Christmas Day in Montreal in 1960. He is the fourth of five sons and he is "special" in many ways, including that he is a sort of favourite of the father (Michel Côté) and is believed to have the gift of healing.

This film follows Zachary from a child into his teenage years, and then into his early twenties. He develops a passion for music, like his father Gervais has; this greatly pleases him and results in proud comments as well as an odd assortment of musical instruments as gifts. While his father's pride is developing, however, it is also being tested by Zachary's sometimes "strange" behavior: Zachary is "the sensitive one" and is the only son out of five who does not develop "typically" into male behavior such as sports, motorcycles and a slew of girlfriends. (An early desire to have a baby carriage as a gift is quickly dealt with.) This perceived conflict confounds and frustrates Gervais and Zachary both.

C.R.A.Z.Y. is a film about a man's love for his sons, and one of the son's undying love for his father. Zachary loves his father so much and wants so badly to make him proud that he buries his true self deep inside, even to a breaking point. Zachary was incredibly portrayed by both Émile Vallée as a child (he is actually the co-writer/director's son) and Marc-André Grondin as the teenager/young adult. We see his childlike wonder and innocence slowly transform into an adolescent identity that is based on fear, confusion and a strong desire to please his father. Gervais, played by Michel Côté, is man who truly cherishes his family but has a sometimes rough exterior. He struggles with the idea that his children's happiness may result from things that he can't control, despite how badly he may want to. It is amazing to watch both characters grow into men who are mature enough able to let go of themselves and of each other. Vallée does an incredible job of keeping some of the characters at arm's length (mainly the mother and the other brothers) while maintaining their believability and importance to Zachary and Gervais.

A standout characteristic of C.R.A.Z.Y. is its use of music. Vallée allegedly took a major pay cut in order to secure the licensing rights to the music of the period, both French and English. The use of original recordings by Patsy Cline, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Charles Aznavour, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd and others not only authenticates the period but also communicates how passionate the characters were about music. Some of the sequences gave me goosebumps. Being a music lover myself, I can relate to how certain songs literally define specific periods of my life. It's amazing how the careful selection of music and how it is subsequently worked into a film can have so much impact.

This film is truly a gem, and was Canada's submission to the Foreign Language Film category at the 2005 Oscars. I picked up on a lot more with the second viewing, but I was totally sold after the first. C.R.A.Z.Y. is definitely one of my new favourite films.