Emotional Arithmetic

Also known as: Autumn Hearts: A New BeginningIn English (2007)Jakob: "I should not have said 'remember'. I should have said 'live'."Emotional Arithmetic is about the reunion, in Quebec and over forty years later, of three Holocaust survivors of a French transit camp called Drancy. Melanie (Susan Sarandon) and Christopher (Gabriel Byrne) were imprisoned as children and cared for by a young man

Shake Hands with the Devil

In English (2007)This movie is about the experiences of General Romeo Dallaire (Roy Dupuis) during the Rwandan genocide, and the effect it had on his life. I decided not to watch it because the content is just too upsetting for me personally. Rather than not cover the movie at all, I asked members of the Roy Dupuis fan list Amis par Roy to contribute their impressions, and got several

That Beautiful Somewhere

In English (2006)Harold: "To be healed, you have to die and be reborn."I had read a number of reviews of this movie, and not single one was good, so I wasn't expecting a lot. But actually, I thought this movie just missed being really good. It was interesting and deeply romantic, in a suicidal and depressing sort of way.Conk (Roy Dupuis) is a police detective and veteran haunted by his

Maurice Richard

Also known as The RocketIn French, with English subtitles (2005)Lucille: "You shatter records, fill arenas, but the league doesn't protect you. Why? They protect every star player but you."This is a period biopic about Quebecois hockey great Maurice Richard, starting and ending with the 1955 riots in Montreal when Richard was suspended unfairly for a fight he didn't start.Maurice Richard was

Les Etats Unis d'Albert

In French, with English subtitles (2005)Jack Dekker: "Partial amnesia. I'd give anything to forget Arizona and get back my virginity."This is an absurd and occasionally raunchy screwball comedy. I laughed all the way through it.It is 1926, and Valentino had just died. On his way to Los Angeles to become a movie star, young Albert (Eric Bruneau) meets and falls in love with a lovely,

C'est Pas Moi, C'est l'Autre

In French (2004)This is a light romantic comedy with broad, physical humor. I laughed out loud several times, and enjoyed it all the way to the end.Roy Dupuis plays Vincent Papineau, an inept burglar who accidentally runs afoul of the Marseilles Mafia. As he is trying to evade them, he cuts his hair and shaves his beard, and is promptly mistaken for a cop named Claude Laurin. With bad guys

Manners of Dying

Also known as L'executionIn English (2004)Parlington: "Please believe that I share in your grief. Yours truly, Harry Parlington. Director, Cantos, Correctional Institution."Manners of Dying is about the last few hours in the life of a condemned convict, Kevin Barlow (Roy Dupuis), before his execution by lethal injection. It starts with his last meal, and continues through to his death --

Memoires Affectives

Also known as Looking for AlexanderIn French, with English subtitles available (2004)Alexander: "It's like I was born an old man."Nurse: "Don't worry. You look great for forty."I was very impressed with the power of the story, the beauty of the photography, and the strength of Roy's performance.Roy Dupuis plays Alexander Tourneur, a veterinarian who is in a hit and run accident. Alexander

Monica La Mitraille

Also known as Machine Gun MollyIn French, with English subtitles (2004)Monica: "If I were a guy, no one would care. It was the only way out I knew."Born into poverty and the victim of tragedy, trapped in the traditional female roles of the post-WWII era, Monica Sparvieri's biggest mistake was that she found bank robbery more interesting and fun than prostitution.Monica isn't what I would call

Jack Paradise

Also known as Les nuits de MontrealIn French (2004)Roy Dupuis stars as jazz pianist Jack Paradise in this well-intentioned but poorly realized biopic.The movie is visually striking, and the music is good. The acting is certainly first rate. I thought Roy did a fine job, especially with the piano work, although somehow he didn't feel quite right for the part. I wanted to like this movie.

Les Invasions Barbares

Also known as The Barbarian InvasionsAlso known as Invasion of the BarbariansIn French, with English subtitles (2003)Remy: "You remember the proverb. Christmas in the scanner, Easter six feet under."This is a beautiful, meaningful movie. I loved it.Remy (Remy Girard), a former college professor, is dying. His wealthy son, Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau) decides he will do everything he can to

The Last Chapter

The Last Chapter andThe Last Chapter II: The War ContinuesIn English (2002 and 2003)Also available in French as Le Dernier ChapitreRoss Desbiens: "Told you no last year. Told you no last month. Told you no last night. It's still no. What part of no don't you understand, Bob?"The Last Chapter is a hard-hitting Canadian television mini-series about rival motorcycle gangs and illegal drug

Seraphin

Also known as Seraphin: Heart of Stone(2002) In French, with English subtitlesDonalda: "I'm awake, Alexis. No dream hurts like this."Seraphin is a realistic period piece set in the small village of Saint Adele, sometime in the horse-and-buggy past. The action starts in the summer, when beautiful young Donalda and reformed bad boy Alexis are happy and in love. Alexis goes away to earn money

Free Money

In English (1998)Free Money may be the worst movie I've ever seen.Roy Dupuis plays an escaped convict who runs through the trees until he gets shot. He doesn't have a single line; he just gets taken to the corrupt warden (Marlon Brando), who kills him. This scene happens fairly early in the film; in fact, I understand that it was supposed to open the film, but the producers decided it was

J'en Suis!

Also known as Heads or TailsIn French, with English subtitles (1997)Dominique: "I'm not oriented. I'm disoriented."This is a politically incorrect and occasionally embarrassing sex farce. Fortunately, it has a few redeeming qualities.Roy Dupuis plays Dominique Samson, an overextended businessman desperate for money. He finds the perfect job that will solve all of his problems, but there's a

Hemoglobin

Also known as BleedersAlso known as The DescendantIn English (1997)Hemoglobin is not a vampire movie or a slasher flick. There are no chainsaws, and it doesn't feature a serial killer in a mask. I could tell that they were really trying for a thought-provoking horror movie; there was actual cohesive writing with symbolism and humor, along with a fairly heavy-duty plot. And most of the

Aire Libre

Also known as Out in the OpenIn French and Spanish, with English subtitles (1996)This biopic is a fictionalized account of the friendship between scientists Baron Alexander von Humboldt and Dr. Aime Bonpland, focusing mostly on their expedition to Venezuela in 1799.The movie started slowly, and I wasn't sure I liked it at first. But it had a strong, humanist message, and became interesting as

L'Homme Ideal

Also known as The Ideal ManIn French, with English subtitles (1996)Laszlo, the pastry chef: "She has better taste in pies than in men."Let's see. I wake up next to Roy Dupuis after a passionate one night stand. He asks me for my phone number. Instead of giving it to him, I push him out the door because it's my thirty-fifth birthday and I'm all bummed out. Yeah, that would happen.L'Homme

Waiting for Michelangelo

In English (1996)Evelyn: "I guess it's true. You just know when it's right."Roy Dupuis got to play the physical embodiment of a refrigerator magnet. Unfortunately, the role was just that exciting. Kelly (Renee Coleman) is a divorced newscaster and single mother who has given up looking for the perfect man, until she meets a Swiss art dealer Thomas (Roy Dupuis), who sweeps her off her feet.

Screamers

In English (1995)Hendrickssen: "Things ain't what they used to be."Screamers actually has a pretty good pedigree. It was adapted from a short story by Philip K. Dick, and it stars Peter Weller, a very good actor who is probably best known for Robocop. It is about a war between humans on the planet Sirius 6B over an extremely valuable energy source (shades of Dune), but unfortunately, the