In the last few years, mainstream Québec cinema has spawned two kinds of films: (1) big, broad comedies with casts full of big names that please the public and (2) more low-key drama usually set in Montreal about urban alienated people that wins a lot of awards. It takes a new director to take our cinema towards new horizons: Erik Canuel, Ricardo Trogi and the director of Le Marais, Kim Nguyen. Nguyen does a type of movie that’s barely been seen in Quebec, a period fantasy. He would’ve pulled it off remarkably… had he made this movie in 1932.

Alexandre (Gregory Hlady) and Ulysse (Paul Ahmarani) are actor and puppeteer, respectively. They live off in the woods of 19th century France, away from the towns where Ulysse is ridiculed for his physical deformities (he has antler stubs in his forehead and mutated feet). One night, an old woman is killed accidentally in a nearby farm; the guilt-wracked farmer and his wife decide to dump the body in the swamp, where Ulysse finds it. Ulysse, however, does not report it; instead, he keeps the body to himself, decorating her muddy outline to look like a mermaid. Meanwhile, the townspeople are getting restless over the disappearance of the old woman and look squarely in the directon of Ulysse and Alexandre.

Nguyen’s film is a beautiful, eerie one that takes place almost completely outside. The locations are absolutely beautiful; the swamp looks like a painting more than anything. The atmosphere is sort of dreamlike in spots, which contrasts with the dark muddiness of the town. Nguyen reportedly was inspired by a 19th century German painter named Caspar David Friedrich to compose many of the scenery shots; I’m not familiar with the painter, but if what’s on-screen is anything to judge him by, he’s one hell of a painter. Nguyen certainly knows how to put the mood and atmosphere in the film; so much that it makes you think that maybe he puts too much time into it.

For all its ethereal beauty, however, Le Marais is anything but original. The tale presented here is very familiar; it’s a simple tale of not fitting in and being accepted for what you are. It even reminds one of Frankenstein (!) hardly a fresh new story. The directions that the movie takes are painfully obvious; I’m sure that many of you can deduce the ending simply by reading the (albeit short) summary I have up there. Parts of the film feel truncated as well; a lynch mob is eventually started up, but the subplot never goes anywhere. It just sort of evaporates into thin air and we never hear from them or their leader (played by James Hyndman in a small cameo) ever again.

What’s more is that the actors are pretty much treated like scenery as well. Ahmarani, as the simple-minded Ulysse, is great. Ahmarani is a strong young actor who’s shaping up to be one of our more promising talents, and his Ulysse is a truly sympathetic character. It’s hard to pull off these kinds of characters, too; Fabienne in Pulp Fiction got by solely on the fact that she was so well written. Ahmarani’s character is minimally returned but made into more than he is by the actor. The rest of the cast doesn’t fare nearly as well; Hlady is terribly stiff and boring. There are times when he seems to break through, but then he goes back to normal. It’s as if Hlady was playing straight man to someone, except that here he has no one to play straight man to, leaving us with a performance that’s so dull and devoid of emotion, it’s actually kinda sad. Gabriel Gascon gets third billing for what amounts to roughly 15 or 20 minutes of screen time maximum; he’s nothing special. Hlady's problem plagues most of the supporting cast, too; they're so distanced in their performances that they make the movie rather dull and uninvolving.

Le Marais does not revolutionize Québec cinema; it barely even left its prints. It’s a film with many problems but also a very beautiful film that manages to be touching despite its familiarity. It’s a shame that Nguyen spends so much time over the visuals; I just hope that he won’t make the same mistake in his next film, because if there’s one thing Quebec cinema is lacking (besides variety), it’s truly visual directors who know how to tell a story. Nguyen’s got the visuals; all he needs is a story.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age