It's a drama about rural life in the asbestos mining area of Quebec, Canada, in 1945. Two households are featured. Jos Poulin (Lionel Villeneuve) quits his asbestos job sometime in 1945 and leaves town to work as a logger. He leaves his wife (Hélène Loiselle) and five children on a hard-scrapple farm some distance from town.
Antoine (Jean Duceppe) and Cécile (Olivette Thibault) run the general store in town; Antoine is also the town's mortician. Fernand (Claude Jutra) and young teenager Carmen (Lyne Champagne) are working for them. Benoît (Jacques Gagnon), Antoine's nephew, comes to work for them on December 24, 1945, and becomes the film's observer.
Benoît has observed a funeral and then the celebrations after he helps with Christmas decorations at the store. He interacts with the rest of the household, especially Carmen, and sees a number of the town's daily rituals. The Poulin family's oldest son dies suddenly, and he asks Antoine to go along to the countryside to get the body. The movie portrays the challenging events that unfold before Christmas morning.
"Mon Oncle Antoine" is early Quebec commercial cinema and is worthy of the recognition it has received. The townsfolk seem natural and earthy, and the divide between English and French is clear. The cinematography is not as polished as later efforts, but the story's ending is excellent. Gagnon, Champagne, and Villeneuve are the standout actors.
I watched the French-language original with subtitles; you can also watch an English dubbed version.
Antoine (Jean Duceppe) and Cécile (Olivette Thibault) run the general store in town; Antoine is also the town's mortician. Fernand (Claude Jutra) and young teenager Carmen (Lyne Champagne) are working for them. Benoît (Jacques Gagnon), Antoine's nephew, comes to work for them on December 24, 1945, and becomes the film's observer.
Benoît has observed a funeral and then the celebrations after he helps with Christmas decorations at the store. He interacts with the rest of the household, especially Carmen, and sees a number of the town's daily rituals. The Poulin family's oldest son dies suddenly, and he asks Antoine to go along to the countryside to get the body. The movie portrays the challenging events that unfold before Christmas morning.
"Mon Oncle Antoine" is early Quebec commercial cinema and is worthy of the recognition it has received. The townsfolk seem natural and earthy, and the divide between English and French is clear. The cinematography is not as polished as later efforts, but the story's ending is excellent. Gagnon, Champagne, and Villeneuve are the standout actors.
I watched the French-language original with subtitles; you can also watch an English dubbed version.