Mon oncle Antoine
Encyclopedia
Mon oncle Antoine is a 1971 National Film Board of Canada
(Office national du film du Canada) French language
drama film
. Québécois
director
Claude Jutra
co-wrote the screenplay with Clément Perron
and directed what is one of the most acclaimed works in Canadian film history.
The film examines life in the Maurice Duplessis
-era Asbestos region of rural Québec prior to the Asbestos Strike
of the late 1940s. Set at Christmas
time, the story is told from the point of view of a 15-year-old boy (Benoît, played by Jacques Gagnon) coming of age
in a mining
town. The Asbestos Strike is regarded by Québec historians as a seminal event that led to the Quiet Revolution
. Jutra's film, thus, is viewed as an examination of the social conditions in Québec's old, agrarian, conservative and cleric-dominated society that gave birth to the dramatic social and political changes that transformed the province a decade later.
at the 44th Academy Awards
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
The film has twice been voted the greatest Canadian
film ever in the Sight & Sound
poll, which is conducted once each decade. It has been voted TIFF List of Canada's Top Ten Films of All Time 3 out of 3 times.
This film has been designated and preserved as a "masterwork" by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada
, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage. http://avtrust.ca/masterworks/2000/en_film.htm
On July 8, 2008, The Criterion Collection
released a special 2-disc collector's edition of the film.
On December 23, 2008, Roger Ebert
put Mon Oncle Antoine on his Great Movies list.
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(Office national du film du Canada) French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
. Québécois
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....
co-wrote the screenplay with Clément Perron
Clément Perron
Clément Perron was a Canadian film director and screenwriter.-Biography:...
and directed what is one of the most acclaimed works in Canadian film history.
The film examines life in the Maurice Duplessis
Maurice Duplessis
Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis served as the 16th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959. A founder and leader of the highly conservative Union Nationale party, he rose to power after exposing the misconduct and patronage of Liberal Premier Louis-Alexandre...
-era Asbestos region of rural Québec prior to the Asbestos Strike
Asbestos Strike
The Asbestos Strike of 1949, based in and around Asbestos, Quebec, Canada, was a four-month labour dispute by the asbestos miners. It has traditionally been portrayed as a turning point in Quebec history that helped lead to the Quiet Revolution...
of the late 1940s. Set at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time, the story is told from the point of view of a 15-year-old boy (Benoît, played by Jacques Gagnon) coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
in a mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
town. The Asbestos Strike is regarded by Québec historians as a seminal event that led to the Quiet Revolution
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions...
. Jutra's film, thus, is viewed as an examination of the social conditions in Québec's old, agrarian, conservative and cleric-dominated society that gave birth to the dramatic social and political changes that transformed the province a decade later.
Critical acclaim
The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 44th Academy Awards
44th Academy Awards
The 44th Academy Awards were presented April 10, 1972 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Jack Lemmon. One of the major highlights of the evening was the appearance of Betty Grable, who was battling...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
The film has twice been voted the greatest Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
film ever in the Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
poll, which is conducted once each decade. It has been voted TIFF List of Canada's Top Ten Films of All Time 3 out of 3 times.
This film has been designated and preserved as a "masterwork" by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada
Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada
The Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada was a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage, and to facilitating access to regional and national collections through partnerships with members of Canada's audio-visual community...
, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage. http://avtrust.ca/masterworks/2000/en_film.htm
On July 8, 2008, The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
released a special 2-disc collector's edition of the film.
On December 23, 2008, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
put Mon Oncle Antoine on his Great Movies list.
See also
- List of submissions to the 44th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- Watch Mon oncle Antoine at NFB.ca
- Close-up: Mon oncle Antoine critique of the film and its legacy NOTE: This link is recovered
- Mon oncle Antoine article by Barry Keith Grant published in the June–September 2004 issue of Take One
- http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081223/REVIEWS08/812239993 Roger Ebert's Great Movies entry for the film.