Le rêve américain
Le Dernier Souffle
directed by Richard Ciupka
starring Luc Picard, Julien Poulen, Serge Houde, Michel Goyette
Quebec film-maker Richard Ciupka took an ambitious
leap in his latest movie, Le Dernier Souffle, and made an upscale, polished detective
thriller to compete with the fare cranked out by our American cousins. The best part
is - it pretty much works.
Without warning, the life of Montreal police detective Laurent Vaillancourt (in a
stunning performance by Luc Picard) suddenly unravels. During a backyard barbecue
party, his wife leaves him for his cop partner. Vaillancourt's younger brother, who
had drifted into a neo-Nazi skinhead gang, has turned up, stripped naked, in an abandoned
warehouse. Reeling from the events, Vaillancourt decides to follow on his own the
clues to his brother's murder, and ends up in the small-town redneck mecca of Nazareth,
Arkansas.
The plot is apt, for like the detective, Ciupka ventures with his film into the belly
of the beast, playing up the cultural discordance of a leather coat clad Québécois
among the cowboy-hatted butt-scratchers for all it's worth. We're seeing a part of
America through the eyes of one of our own - and the view is refreshing. It's a twisty
movie with some wonderful dialogue and a fun, what-the-hell sense about it. Ciupka
and screenwriter Joanne Arseneau (they also teamed up for the hit '96 mini-series
L'Affaire Kafka) love playing with detective movie clichés and throw as many
of them as they can into the mix. The Russian mafia, FBI intrigue, helicopters, stolen
plutonium, prostitutes, car chases - why the hell not!
But it's in the interior monologue where the movie reveals its heart. Picard's voiceover
narrates the progress and reflections of Vaillancourt, and it's clear that the crisis
brought about by his brother's murder has been building for a long time. He recounts
a terrifying childhood dream where he woke up and everything around him had suddenly
changed and was unfamiliar. Vaillancourt's a fish out of water among the Americans,
and in the ordeal (including a frame-up for murder) he's brought back to the days
before he became a cop and buttoned down his fear.
His father, an embittered "felquist", (passionately acted by Julien Poulen
- to Quebecers, forever branded as "Elvis Gratton" in the Pierre Falardeau
film) never forgave his son for joining the police and siding with The Man. His younger
brother went to the extreme right, wanting as much distance as possible from dad's
FLQ ideals. For his part, Laurent tried to maintain balance by staying in the middle,
but instead became dulled and indifferent. Throughout the years, though, his dream
remained beneath the surface, and now returns to overwhelm him.
Luc Picard is a pleasure to watch. He's a familiar face on the Quebec stage, in TV
series like Omertà, and in supporting work on films such as Octobre. It's
a demanding role. On screen for nearly the entire film, narrating it - Picard has
to carry the movie, and he does. His performance as the bottled up detective struggling
for clarity is marvellous and restrained, and shows real big screen presence.
Ciupka, for years a cinematographer (he beautifully shot Louis Malle's Atlantic City),
has the sense not to let his nice visuals distract too much from the plot. He lets
the camera linger on Picard's face as scenes play out. You can see the gears turning,
the intensity building, and you can't wait to see what will happen next.
- Neil Brouillet
Le Dernier Souffle is playing now at Quartier Latin (514-849-FILM), Le Dauphin (514-721-6060) and Langelier (514-255-5551) cinemas