| Polytechnique | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Denis Villeneuve |
| Produced by | Don Carmody and Maxime Rémillard |
| Written by | Screenplay: Jacques Davidts Denis Villeneuve |
| Starring | Maxim Gaudette Sebastien Huberdeau Karine Vanasse Évelyne Brochu Johanne-Marie Tremblay Pierre Yves Cardinal |
| Music by | Benoit Charest |
| Cinematography | Pierre Gill |
| Editing by | Richard Comeau |
| Distributed by | Alliance Films Remstar Wild Bunch[1] |
| Release date(s) | Quebec: February 6, 2009 Toronto, Vancouver & Calgary: March 20, 2009 |
| Running time | 77 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | French English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $1,663,867 |
Polytechnique is a 2009 Canadian film from Quebec written by Jacques Davidts and Denis Villeneuve and directed by Denis Villeneuve. Set in Montreal, Quebec and based on the École Polytechnique massacre (also known as the "Montreal Massacre"), the film documents the events of December 6, 1989, through the eyes of two students who witness a gunman murder fourteen young women. The film was released on February 6, 2009, in Quebec and on March 20, 2009, in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.[2][3] Its release has sparked controversy in Quebec.[4][5]
The film was screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2009.[6][7]
During a class a young man enters a classroom with a rifle. He orders the men to leave and the women to stay. They comply after he shoots into the ceiling to show that he is serious. He tells the women that he hates feminists. Although the women deny being feminists; he shoots at them killing some and wounding others. He then moves through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, specifically targeting women.
The film jumps back and forth in time several times. It shows male student Jean-François who was ordered to leave the classroom. He does not just flee but he returns to try to stop the killer and/or help the victims. Two surviving women, including Valérie, play dead thinking the killer returned. Some time after the massacre Jean-François, feeling guilty for complying with the order to leave the classroom and abandoning the women, commits suicide.
The rest of the cast listed alphabetically:
| Role | Played by | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Valérie | Karine Vanasse | |
| Jean-François | Sébastien Huberdeau | |
| The Killer | Maxim Gaudette | |
| Stéphanie | Evelyne Brochu |
The trailer was released in late November 2008, in both French and English versions. An edited version of Moby's song "Everloving" (from his Play album) is featured extensively in the trailer.
The film was shot at Cégep de Maisonneuve and Collège Ahuntsic as well as Griffintown and Westmount.[8]
There were two versions of the film produced, one in English and one in French. The director Denis Villeneuve hoped the film would enter into the English-Canadian market, as well as the American one.[8] Villeneuve shot the film in black and white, so as to avoid the presence of blood on screen.[8]
The name of the perpetrator is never mentioned in the film. The end credits list Maxim Gaudette's character as "The killer".
Later in her career, Valérie (Karine Vanasse) wears an Iron Ring, the professional ring of Canadian engineers.
The film has received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film three and a half stars out of four, stating "Polytechnique makes no judgments, offers no panaceas. It shows the violence, faithfully recreating the historical record, but it doesn't wallow in it. Pierre Gill's brilliant monochrome lensing minimizes the effect of the blood. [...] It stands as a work of art, summoning unspoken thoughts the way Picasso's war abstraction Guernica does in a scene of contemplation with Jean-François."[9]
Denis Seguin of ScreenDaily.com gave the film a favourable review, writing "Like Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, Polytechnique is a formalist interpretation of an atrocity, with a cool perspective on the events and much for audiences to read between the frames as the film moves back and forth through time." [10]
Katherine Monk of Canwest News Services gave the film four stars out of five; "The paradox may sound grotesque, but it must be stated loud and clear: Denis Villeneuve and the cast of Polytechnique have transformed the tragedy of the Montreal Massacre into a work of profound beauty." [11]
In January 2010, it was named the Best Canadian Film of 2009 by the Toronto Film Critics Association. Brian D. Johnson, TFCA president called it a "film of astonishing courage."[12]
In April 2010, the film won nine Genie Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Villeneuve, Best Actress for Vanasse and Best Supporting Actor for Gaudette.
The film grossed $214,419 in Quebec cinemas during its opening weekend, ranking 13th at the Canadian box office, even with limited release.[13] As of May 28, 2009, the film has grossed $1.66 million,[14] making it one of the highest-grossing Canadian films of the year.
Polytechnique was released on August 25, 2009 in two versions; a special two-disc edition with special features and a single disc edition with just the feature film. Both feature the English and French versions of the film. A Blu-Ray format was also released.[15]
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