A compelling portrait of life in small town Quebec.
Jutra´s career peaked with "Antoine" and his tale is ultimately a tragic one which I will discuss more in the Extras section below. For his fans, that only makes this film that much more precious.
Video
The film is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The progressive transfer is clean and sharp, though not quite Criterion perfect. The transfer looks ever-so slightly washed out in a few scenes which is probably due to the source print. It´s still an excellent product.
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. An English dubbed track is available in addition to the French audio. Optional English subtitles support the French audio.
Extras
Disc One offers the option of listening to the film in an English-dubbed version that is so phenomenally bad I recommend you listen to at least a few minutes before forgetting it even exists.
Disc Two has three very strong features.
"A Chairy Tale" is a short film (1957, 10 min) that Jutra co-directed with Norman McLaren. It´s an experimental comedy in which a man (Jutra) tries to sit on a chair. The chair has other ideas. It´s a cute bit which is made even better by the effective use of Ravi Shankar music, long before Shankar became the popular groovy guru of the 60s.
"On Screen! ´Mon Oncle Antoine´" (2007, 47 min) is a television documentary directed and produced by Tristan Orchard. Cast and crew from the movie are interviewed along with locals from the town where it was filmed.
Both of these are very good extras, but the last one is the gem of the collection. "Claude Jutra: An Unfinished Story" (2002, 82 min) is directed by Paule Baillargeon, a friend of Jutra´s. Jutra, suffering from Alzheimer´s and despondent over a lack of available projects, committed suicide on Nov 5, 1986 at the age of 56. Baillargeon´s documentary traces the roots of his tragic end but, more importantly, celebrates his life and his legacy. Jutra had a difficult go after hitting it big with "Mon oncle Antoine." He was forced at one point to move to Toronto and start making English-language films, something he never felt comfortable doing. This is an informative and touching portrait of a director few people know much about. It´s also one of the best features Criterion has offered this year, and would be worthy of its own separate release.
The insert booklet includes an essay by André Loiselle.
Film Value
"Mon oncle Antoine´s" depiction of small town life in Quebec is thoroughly compelling. The performances in this film are excellent across the board, especially director Claude Jutra´s. This is not a plot-driven movie, but rather one in which the characters are free to be real people and their situations develop organically. Jutra was obviously a director who loved actors and gave them free reign to create their own roles. Jutra and writer Perron craft some unforgettable "small" moments that loom large in your memory after the film is over.
In answer to the trivia question above, the highest grossing Canadian-produced film of all time before "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" was… Porky´s (1982.)
Video
The film is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The progressive transfer is clean and sharp, though not quite Criterion perfect. The transfer looks ever-so slightly washed out in a few scenes which is probably due to the source print. It´s still an excellent product.
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. An English dubbed track is available in addition to the French audio. Optional English subtitles support the French audio.
Extras
Disc One offers the option of listening to the film in an English-dubbed version that is so phenomenally bad I recommend you listen to at least a few minutes before forgetting it even exists.
Disc Two has three very strong features.
"A Chairy Tale" is a short film (1957, 10 min) that Jutra co-directed with Norman McLaren. It´s an experimental comedy in which a man (Jutra) tries to sit on a chair. The chair has other ideas. It´s a cute bit which is made even better by the effective use of Ravi Shankar music, long before Shankar became the popular groovy guru of the 60s.
"On Screen! ´Mon Oncle Antoine´" (2007, 47 min) is a television documentary directed and produced by Tristan Orchard. Cast and crew from the movie are interviewed along with locals from the town where it was filmed.
Both of these are very good extras, but the last one is the gem of the collection. "Claude Jutra: An Unfinished Story" (2002, 82 min) is directed by Paule Baillargeon, a friend of Jutra´s. Jutra, suffering from Alzheimer´s and despondent over a lack of available projects, committed suicide on Nov 5, 1986 at the age of 56. Baillargeon´s documentary traces the roots of his tragic end but, more importantly, celebrates his life and his legacy. Jutra had a difficult go after hitting it big with "Mon oncle Antoine." He was forced at one point to move to Toronto and start making English-language films, something he never felt comfortable doing. This is an informative and touching portrait of a director few people know much about. It´s also one of the best features Criterion has offered this year, and would be worthy of its own separate release.
The insert booklet includes an essay by André Loiselle.
Film Value
"Mon oncle Antoine´s" depiction of small town life in Quebec is thoroughly compelling. The performances in this film are excellent across the board, especially director Claude Jutra´s. This is not a plot-driven movie, but rather one in which the characters are free to be real people and their situations develop organically. Jutra was obviously a director who loved actors and gave them free reign to create their own roles. Jutra and writer Perron craft some unforgettable "small" moments that loom large in your memory after the film is over.
In answer to the trivia question above, the highest grossing Canadian-produced film of all time before "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" was… Porky´s (1982.)
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[release]24368[/release]