Mon Oncle Antoine

Winner of several Canadian film awards, this lyrical look at a 15-year-old boy's coming-of-age takes a different tack from similarly themed fare. Jacques Gagnon is excellent as young Benoit, an orphan living in a depressed Canadian mining town during the 40s. Along with his foster sister Carmen (Lyne Champagne), he helps out his Aunt Cecile (Olivette Thibault) and Uncle Antoine (Jean Duceppe) run the general store. Set during Christmas, the first half of the film explores the relationships of small town life at a leisurely pace. In the second half, however, Benoit accompanies his uncle on a sleigh ride to pick up the body of a dead farm youth (the uncle also serves as an undertaker). It is not the traditional adolescent tryst then that propels young Benoit into early manhood, but the face to face encounter with death. Over a very short time, Benoit discovers not only the concept of mortality, but also sees the failings of his uncle and, by extension, that failure is an ordinary part of adult life. A bit slow by contemporary standards, Mon Oncle Antoine is nevertheless recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—Aug. 5, 2008—Criterion, 2 discs, 104 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD, 1971's Mon Oncle Antoine features an excellent transfer and Dolby Digital mono sound. DVD extras on this two-disc Criterion Collection edition include the 82-minute 2002 filmmaker documentary 'Claude Jutra: An Unfinished Story' by Paule Baillargeon (featuring interviews with cinematographer Michel Brault, director Bernardo Bertolucci, and actors), the 48-minute 2007 production history documentary 'On Screen!,' the 10-minute 'A Chairy Tale' 1957 short film co-directed by Jutra and Norman McLaren, a new essay by film scholar Andre Loiselle, and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for a solid film.]