I went into this movie not knowing what to expect other than some sort of patriotic political drama. So it was with great surprise that I found myself (along with a couple of others in the theatre) laughing quite a lot. Indeed we are dealing with serious subjects here, workers rights in the mining industry, Québécois people still under the thumb of «les Anglais», Church and Government in bed together, working orphans, etc. But Forcier throws in lots of low-brow humor with some over the top stereotypical portrayals of Anglo-Franco relations and «syndicalisme». Of course there are also possibly too many «intimate moments» which get turned into ridicule. Somewhere after the halfway mark, the movie does get a little more tragic, as the consequences of bad choices come to the foreground, but there still remains some «humour jaune» moments. In the end, I was left with the impression of having seen a moving (literally) portrait of days past.
PS. Certain images will remain in my mind forever, one in particular competing with «Something about Mary» for best ever cinema goop shot.
PS. Certain images will remain in my mind forever, one in particular competing with «Something about Mary» for best ever cinema goop shot.
