Corbo, 2014.
Directed by Mathieu Denis.
Starring Anthony Therrien, Antoine L’Écuyer, Karelle Tremblay, Tony Nardi, Jean-François Pronovost, Dino Tavarone, Marie Brassard, Francis Ducharme, and Simon Pigeon. SYNOPSIS:
A teenage Quebecer in the 1960s evolves from pro-independence activist to radical terrorist.
The prologue talks about how French Quebecers were discriminated by the English minority resulting in the majority being marginalized in the business community. The title character is introduced to his prep school classmates who giggle at the idea of him being Italian; he later literally collides with a pair of teenagers being chased by the priest for distributing pamphlets.
All is not well in the Corbo household as the two sons are rebelling against their father who they view to be part of the repressive establishment. The older of the two sons believes in the power of vote while the younger one becomes disillusioned and comes to be persuaded by a radical separatist group that violence is the only way to bring about reform.
Full credit goes to the painterly imagery lensed by Steve Asselin for Corbo which has the composition and lighting which would make Dutch Masters proud. The production design constructed by Éric Barbeau has an authentic 1960s sensibility and the music composed by Olivier Alary is not overpowering. Moments are allowed to unfold though at times it would have been helpful to tighten scenes to improve upon the pacing.
Filmmaker Mathieu Denis who wrote and directed the period drama which is his feature debt certainly has a clear vision and thankfully, he does resort to the Young Adult genre standard of having the lead actor becoming embroiled in a romantic triangle. Sound is used to indicate destruction rather than relying entirely on visually seeing explosions. The cast play their parts well while the political beliefs of Denis are heavy handed at times, thereby, making story feel like a piece of FLQ propaganda. Regardless, Corbo is an impressive first effort.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★★★/ Movie: ★★★
Originally published September 1, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
