Besides being associated with careless joys and romantic exploits, part of summer’s seductive appeal is that, assuming one gets time off from daily responsibilities, it provides an opportunity to reassess and recharge. During this usually warm and relaxed time of he year people are expected to be more active, to spend time outside, and to utilize their time enjoying activities that their lifestyles don’t always allow them to.
Vacation sounds fun indeed, but when you are a young twenty-something struggling to find a clear path for the rest of your life, summer is more of a difficult transitioning period than a celebratory season. Once the fall comes reality will be there waiting to make its presence known. With unassuming intelligence and modest imagery, Stéphane Lafleur's imaginative Quebecois feature “Tu Dors Nicole” (You're Sleeping, Nicole) encompasses such feelings of youthful uncertainty.
Relishing each day she gets to spend home alone while her parents are out of town, Nicole (Julianne Côté) is a young woman without much going on in her life and in desperate need of purpose. Her suburban neighborhood lacks excitement and new faces to be enticed by. Most days, when she is not working at the local second hand clothing store, Nicole rides her bike and eats ice cream with her best friend Véronique to fight the ravaging heat. In turn, Véronique (Catherine St-Laurent), who is clearly the more colorful and friendly of the two, works in an office for an elderly man in order to afford repairing her true love - her car. It all seems like monotonous simplicity until Nicole decides to use her newly acquired credit card to pay for them to take a trip to the remote Scandinavian nation of Iceland.
To her surprise, however, her older brother Rémi (Marc-André Grondin) has decided to stay at their parents’ house as well, and he’s brought his band along to work on songs for an upcoming album. Instantly Nicole's plans for a few peaceful days before heading out on her adventure have vanished. She needs to get out of this quiet, unnamed town before she blows up. Magnifying her unbearable situation, she also suffers from insomnia and often wanders the streets at night to occupy her restless mind.
Ingenuously written to elicit thoughtful significance from what could be perceived as mundane incidents, “Tu Dors Nicole” is elegantly laced with magical realism that intensify the delicate dreamy atmosphere. In a collection of curiously comedic assets, an indelible highlight is Nicole’s interaction with 10-year-old Martin (Godefroy Reding), a precocious boy with the baritone voice of a seasoned adult man.
Shamelessly outspoken about his feelings for her, Martin tries to convince Nicole that is their destiny to be together. These moments are strangely charming and surreal at once. Lafleur is clever at including other elements along these lines, including whimsical sound effects to denote the endless possibilities his world offers, to make his audience question whether Nicole is walking in a dream or awake in a fantastical reality.
Although certainly not interested in Martin’s adorable advances, Nicole has her own unresolved love issues with and ex-boyfriend and is also tempted to pursue the mysterious Jf (Francis La Haye), one of her brother’s band mates. Everything that’s happening around her is part of growing up, and she is not ready to confront how quickly everything is changing even when it seems to remain static. Is not that she refuses to accept the inevitable obstacles of adulthood, but this summer has tested her loyalties and goals all at once.
Shot on 35mm by Sara Mishara, the film makes use of familiar surroundings and renders them interesting in a minimalist manner. Complementing this is Côté’s tranquil demeanor and almost imperceptible confidence that don’t expose much about how Nicole is feeling, but encourages the viewer to try to find out more about her. Also noteworthy is the way Lafleur, who is also a musician himself, employs the music that exist organically in is story, specifically from Rémi’s band, and the sounds of nature to score his work.
Reminiscent of Baumbach’s “Frances Ha,” both in tone and in its use of evocative black-and-white cinematography in a modern setting, Lafleur's film might come across as slight or unchallenging for those who seek evident philosophical statements or intricate plot twists. But it’s exactly in that unpretentiousness and effortless complexity that “Tu Dors Nicole” becomes more efficient at being memorable and insightful. Just like waking up from a delightful sleep-induced fantasy in which some sequences aren’t fully coherent, but knowing all them say something profound about you.
"Tu Dors Nicole" is now playing in NYC at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and opens in Miami Beach on June 12th at the Miami Beach Cinematheque...
Vacation sounds fun indeed, but when you are a young twenty-something struggling to find a clear path for the rest of your life, summer is more of a difficult transitioning period than a celebratory season. Once the fall comes reality will be there waiting to make its presence known. With unassuming intelligence and modest imagery, Stéphane Lafleur's imaginative Quebecois feature “Tu Dors Nicole” (You're Sleeping, Nicole) encompasses such feelings of youthful uncertainty.
Relishing each day she gets to spend home alone while her parents are out of town, Nicole (Julianne Côté) is a young woman without much going on in her life and in desperate need of purpose. Her suburban neighborhood lacks excitement and new faces to be enticed by. Most days, when she is not working at the local second hand clothing store, Nicole rides her bike and eats ice cream with her best friend Véronique to fight the ravaging heat. In turn, Véronique (Catherine St-Laurent), who is clearly the more colorful and friendly of the two, works in an office for an elderly man in order to afford repairing her true love - her car. It all seems like monotonous simplicity until Nicole decides to use her newly acquired credit card to pay for them to take a trip to the remote Scandinavian nation of Iceland.
To her surprise, however, her older brother Rémi (Marc-André Grondin) has decided to stay at their parents’ house as well, and he’s brought his band along to work on songs for an upcoming album. Instantly Nicole's plans for a few peaceful days before heading out on her adventure have vanished. She needs to get out of this quiet, unnamed town before she blows up. Magnifying her unbearable situation, she also suffers from insomnia and often wanders the streets at night to occupy her restless mind.
Ingenuously written to elicit thoughtful significance from what could be perceived as mundane incidents, “Tu Dors Nicole” is elegantly laced with magical realism that intensify the delicate dreamy atmosphere. In a collection of curiously comedic assets, an indelible highlight is Nicole’s interaction with 10-year-old Martin (Godefroy Reding), a precocious boy with the baritone voice of a seasoned adult man.
Shamelessly outspoken about his feelings for her, Martin tries to convince Nicole that is their destiny to be together. These moments are strangely charming and surreal at once. Lafleur is clever at including other elements along these lines, including whimsical sound effects to denote the endless possibilities his world offers, to make his audience question whether Nicole is walking in a dream or awake in a fantastical reality.
Although certainly not interested in Martin’s adorable advances, Nicole has her own unresolved love issues with and ex-boyfriend and is also tempted to pursue the mysterious Jf (Francis La Haye), one of her brother’s band mates. Everything that’s happening around her is part of growing up, and she is not ready to confront how quickly everything is changing even when it seems to remain static. Is not that she refuses to accept the inevitable obstacles of adulthood, but this summer has tested her loyalties and goals all at once.
Shot on 35mm by Sara Mishara, the film makes use of familiar surroundings and renders them interesting in a minimalist manner. Complementing this is Côté’s tranquil demeanor and almost imperceptible confidence that don’t expose much about how Nicole is feeling, but encourages the viewer to try to find out more about her. Also noteworthy is the way Lafleur, who is also a musician himself, employs the music that exist organically in is story, specifically from Rémi’s band, and the sounds of nature to score his work.
Reminiscent of Baumbach’s “Frances Ha,” both in tone and in its use of evocative black-and-white cinematography in a modern setting, Lafleur's film might come across as slight or unchallenging for those who seek evident philosophical statements or intricate plot twists. But it’s exactly in that unpretentiousness and effortless complexity that “Tu Dors Nicole” becomes more efficient at being memorable and insightful. Just like waking up from a delightful sleep-induced fantasy in which some sequences aren’t fully coherent, but knowing all them say something profound about you.
"Tu Dors Nicole" is now playing in NYC at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and opens in Miami Beach on June 12th at the Miami Beach Cinematheque...
- 6/1/2015
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Sleep, Perchance to Dream: Lafleur’s Eccentric Portrait of One Hazy Summer
Quebecois filmmaker Stephane Lafleur’s third film, Tu dors Nicole (“You’re Sleeping Nicole) unfolds over one drifting summer through the life of a semi-irresponsible young woman. Lazy moments etched in beautiful black and white cinematography stylistically recalls a similar tale of directionless youth in Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, though Lafleur and regular co-writer Valerie Beugrand-Champagne seem less invested in instilling their heroine with a similar sense of infectious charm.
Nicole (Juliane Cote) is left to look after her house while her parents are away over the summer. Though they’ve left explicit instructions, Nicole herself has nothing particularly pressing to do other than working a dead end job at a donation center and hang out with her best friend Veronique (Catherine St. Laurent). The young women seem resigned to depend on the other’s plans as they wander around town,...
Quebecois filmmaker Stephane Lafleur’s third film, Tu dors Nicole (“You’re Sleeping Nicole) unfolds over one drifting summer through the life of a semi-irresponsible young woman. Lazy moments etched in beautiful black and white cinematography stylistically recalls a similar tale of directionless youth in Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, though Lafleur and regular co-writer Valerie Beugrand-Champagne seem less invested in instilling their heroine with a similar sense of infectious charm.
Nicole (Juliane Cote) is left to look after her house while her parents are away over the summer. Though they’ve left explicit instructions, Nicole herself has nothing particularly pressing to do other than working a dead end job at a donation center and hang out with her best friend Veronique (Catherine St. Laurent). The young women seem resigned to depend on the other’s plans as they wander around town,...
- 5/30/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Tu Dors Nicole Kino Lorber Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: B Director: Stéphane Lafleur Screenwriter: Stéphane Lafleur Cast: Julianne Côté, Catherine St-Laurent, Marc-Andre Grondin, Francis La Haye Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 5/7/15 Opens: May 29, 2015 Coming of age films that take place during most people’s actual coming of age, namely late adolescence, brush shoulders with similar films about people in their thirties, who are concerned about their marriages, about how many kids, if any, they may want, or who are unfortunate enough to be contemplating divorce. “Tu dor Nicole,” which means “You’re sleeping, Nicole,” finds a middle ground, focusing principally on Nicole [ Read More ]
The post Tu dors Nicole Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Tu dors Nicole Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/25/2015
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
With all the attention foisted upon Xavier Dolan's "Mommy" last year, another film by a Quebecois director was unfortunately overshadowed. Stéphane Lafleur's "Tu Dors Nicole" has screened at Cannes (as part of the Cannes Directors' Fortnight) has earned strong reviews, but didn't get the same boost as Dolan's Jury Prize winning effort. You'll get a chance to check it out this summer when the movie rolls out to cinemas, and a new trailer has arrived. Starring Julianne Cote, Catherine St-Laurent, Marc-Andre Grondin, Francis La Haye, Simon Larouche, Godefroy Reding and Fanny Mallette, the story follows Nicole and Veronique, who find their breezy summer plans interrupted by the arrival of Nicole's older brother Remi and his bandmates. The movie completely bowled over our critic in Cannes last year, who wrote in his A-grade review that the film is "executed with such charm and skill in every gorgeous frame that...
- 5/11/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Xavier Dolan tied contemporaries Philippe Falardeau and Denis Villeneuve by winning his second Best Feature award at the 17th annual Jutra Awards. Quebec’s answer to the Oscars was a rather suspense-less affair as Mommy claimed nine (plus the top box office award honor) awards winning in all major categories with the exclusion of Best Supporting Actor category win, which would only end up going to Dolan’s other nominated film, Tom at the Farm. Pierre-Yves Cardinal was sublime in his predatory type role and as was the case for several nominees, was hard at work on another project and therefore not on hand for trophyware. Ricardo Trogi’s throwback to awkward teen years tale 1987 did win a trio of awards, but if there were any surprises in the Dolan camp it was the acceptance speeches: Dolan delivered a keynote speech type quality for the last win of the night...
- 3/16/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Tu Dors Nicole
Director: Stéphane Lafleur
Writer: Stéphane Lafleur
Producers: micro_scope’s Luc Déry and Kim McCraw
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Julianne Côté, Catherine St-Laurent, Marc-André Grondin, Francis La Haye and Simon Larouche
The tendency of throwing his Coenesque character set into perilous type of predicaments should continue with his summer set, boys vs. girls titled Tu Dors Nicole. A third feature for Quebecois helmer Stéphane Lafleur, we fully expect to stick to the same black humor template found in his previous pair: the festival favorites Continental, un film and En terrain connu.
Gist: Enjoying the family home while her parents are away, Nicole (22 years old) is quietly spending the first weeks of her year off until her older brother Rémi shows up with his music group. The summer then takes an unexpected turn for Nicole and her best friend Véronique.
Release Date: Filming took place last...
Director: Stéphane Lafleur
Writer: Stéphane Lafleur
Producers: micro_scope’s Luc Déry and Kim McCraw
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Julianne Côté, Catherine St-Laurent, Marc-André Grondin, Francis La Haye and Simon Larouche
The tendency of throwing his Coenesque character set into perilous type of predicaments should continue with his summer set, boys vs. girls titled Tu Dors Nicole. A third feature for Quebecois helmer Stéphane Lafleur, we fully expect to stick to the same black humor template found in his previous pair: the festival favorites Continental, un film and En terrain connu.
Gist: Enjoying the family home while her parents are away, Nicole (22 years old) is quietly spending the first weeks of her year off until her older brother Rémi shows up with his music group. The summer then takes an unexpected turn for Nicole and her best friend Véronique.
Release Date: Filming took place last...
- 2/4/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Reviewed by Annlee Ellingson
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/written by: Stéphane Lafleur
Starring: Francis La Haye, Fanny Mallette, Michel Daigle, Sylvain Marcel, Suzanne Lemoine and Denis Houle
In his second feature, French-Canadian writer-director Stéphane Lafleur (“Continental, un film sans fusil”) structures the narrative in three chapters around three accidents.
In the first, Maryse (Fanny Mallette) is working at her desk at a manufacturing plant when one of the other workers severs his arm on the job. We don’t see the incident, nor the aftermath up close, experiencing it only from Maryse’s point of view from her office window overlooking the factory floor. Yet the amputation haunts her. She suddenly notices missing limbs wherever she goes (like, say, on undressed store mannequins) and becomes obsessed with her own arm, to the point that she finds herself shopping for coolers she could fit it in should she...
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/written by: Stéphane Lafleur
Starring: Francis La Haye, Fanny Mallette, Michel Daigle, Sylvain Marcel, Suzanne Lemoine and Denis Houle
In his second feature, French-Canadian writer-director Stéphane Lafleur (“Continental, un film sans fusil”) structures the narrative in three chapters around three accidents.
In the first, Maryse (Fanny Mallette) is working at her desk at a manufacturing plant when one of the other workers severs his arm on the job. We don’t see the incident, nor the aftermath up close, experiencing it only from Maryse’s point of view from her office window overlooking the factory floor. Yet the amputation haunts her. She suddenly notices missing limbs wherever she goes (like, say, on undressed store mannequins) and becomes obsessed with her own arm, to the point that she finds herself shopping for coolers she could fit it in should she...
- 6/27/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Reviewed by Annlee Ellingson
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/written by: Stéphane Lafleur
Starring: Francis La Haye, Fanny Mallette, Michel Daigle, Sylvain Marcel, Suzanne Lemoine and Denis Houle
In his second feature, French-Canadian writer-director Stéphane Lafleur (“Continental, un film sans fusil”) structures the narrative in three chapters around three accidents.
In the first, Maryse (Fanny Mallette) is working at her desk at a manufacturing plant when one of the other workers severs his arm on the job. We don’t see the incident, nor the aftermath up close, experiencing it only from Maryse’s point of view from her office window overlooking the factory floor. Yet the amputation haunts her. She suddenly notices missing limbs wherever she goes (like, say, on undressed store mannequins) and becomes obsessed with her own arm, to the point that she finds herself shopping for coolers she could fit it in should she...
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed/written by: Stéphane Lafleur
Starring: Francis La Haye, Fanny Mallette, Michel Daigle, Sylvain Marcel, Suzanne Lemoine and Denis Houle
In his second feature, French-Canadian writer-director Stéphane Lafleur (“Continental, un film sans fusil”) structures the narrative in three chapters around three accidents.
In the first, Maryse (Fanny Mallette) is working at her desk at a manufacturing plant when one of the other workers severs his arm on the job. We don’t see the incident, nor the aftermath up close, experiencing it only from Maryse’s point of view from her office window overlooking the factory floor. Yet the amputation haunts her. She suddenly notices missing limbs wherever she goes (like, say, on undressed store mannequins) and becomes obsessed with her own arm, to the point that she finds herself shopping for coolers she could fit it in should she...
- 6/27/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
via filmindependent.org Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature) Winner: Familiar Ground written & directed by Stéphane Lafleur Producers: Luc Déry, Kim McCraw Cast: Francis La Haye, Fanny Mallette, Sylvain Marcel,...
- 6/26/2011
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
The Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the world premiere of Richard Linklater's Bernie as the opening night film for the 2011 festival.
The film will kick off the festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 at L.A. Live. It is written by Skip Hollandsworth and director Linklater and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey.
The film follows a beloved mortician (Black) from a small Texas town, even winning over the town's richest, meanest widow (MacLaine). Even after Bernie commits a horrible crime, people still will not utter a bad word against him.
"We're thrilled to be opening the Festival with the world premiere of this delicious black comedy - a treat from one of the most original and exciting voices in independent film, Richard Linklater," said Festival director Rebecca Yeldham. "With its fabulous all-star cast, Bernie is a perfect stage setter for the incredible line-up of...
The film will kick off the festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 at L.A. Live. It is written by Skip Hollandsworth and director Linklater and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey.
The film follows a beloved mortician (Black) from a small Texas town, even winning over the town's richest, meanest widow (MacLaine). Even after Bernie commits a horrible crime, people still will not utter a bad word against him.
"We're thrilled to be opening the Festival with the world premiere of this delicious black comedy - a treat from one of the most original and exciting voices in independent film, Richard Linklater," said Festival director Rebecca Yeldham. "With its fabulous all-star cast, Bernie is a perfect stage setter for the incredible line-up of...
- 5/30/2011
- by alyssa@mediavine.com (Alyssa Caverley)
- Reel Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.