crazy_rvw

C.R.A.Z.Y.
2005 - Cambodia / Canada - 120 min. - Feature, Color
Director -Jean-Marc Vall�e

Genre/Type -Comedy Drama, Coming-of-Age, Period Film, Gay & Lesbian Films
Keywords -boy, eccentric, father, misfit, teenagers
Themes -Misfits and Outsiders, Questioning Sexuality, Eccentric Families
Tones -Humorous, Quirky
Moods -Only Human
Produced by -Cirrus Communications / Crazy Films
DVD Street Date -Nov 1, 2005
Languages -French
Subtitles -English
Screen Formats -Letterbox for 16x9 TVs
Sound -Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
Aspect Ratio -1.78:1 (DVD)
Studio -Tva Films
DVD Sides -1
Features -C.R.A.Z.Y.sur le plateau / Commentaires audio: / -R�alisateur Jean-Marc Vall�e / -Concepteur sonore Martin Pinsonnault / -Concepteur visuel Patrice Bricault-Vermette / C.R.A.Z.Y. � venise

Cast

Michel Cote -- Gervais Beaulieu
Marc-Andr� Grondin -- Zachary (Zac), 15-21-Years-Old
Danielle Proulx -- Laurianne Beaulieu
�mile Vall�e -- Zachary (Zac), 15-21-Years-Old
Maxime Tremblay -
Pierre-Luc Brillant -- Raymond
Alex Gravel
Felix-Antoine Despatie
Mariloup Wolfe
Jean-Louis Roux
Francis Ducharme
Helen Gregoire

Plot Synopsis

A middle-class teenage misfit living in '70s era Montreal dreams of abandoning his familiar hometown surroundings to seek a brighter future in director Jean-Marc Vall�e's character-driven drama. A sexually-confused Christmas Day baby who likes to march to the beat of his own drummer, Zachary Beaulieu (Marc-Andr� Grondin) nevertheless longs to live up to his old-fashioned father's (Michel Cote) decidedly more traditional expectations. As Zachary seeks solace in the sounds of Pink Floyd and David Bowie, his mother assures him that he's bound for greater things and testosterone-fueled siblings raise hell around the house. Despite feeling bound by his comparatively normal surroundings, the revelations provided by David Bowie's "Space Oddity" allows the disheartened Zachary the luxury of dreaming. - Jason Buchanan

Reviews

Angela Baldassarre, SYMPATICO.CA

Though this has been an exceptional year for Canadian cinema, with the country's star filmmakers all releasing movies (Cronenberg, Egoyan, Maddin), it's a little-known Qu�b�cois filmmaker by the name of Jean-Marc Vall�e who's delivered one of the best pics of the season. "C.R.A.Z.Y." is one of those rare epics that sticks to you for days, much like a "Doctor Zhivago" or "Gone with the Wind" but not, of course, on that scale. As Canada's official entry for the foreign language Oscar, Vall�e's coming-of-age tale is so accurate in terms of period detail that I couldn't help but recognize myself in the film.

The movie's quirky and humourous tone is set from the opening sequence when mom, Laurianne (Danielle Proulx) gives birth to her fourth son, Zac, on Christmas Day, 1960. The fact that he was clinically dead for the first few minutes of his life and that his brother drops him on his head only moments later is an indication that this kid is going to have problems.

Gervais (a terrific Michel C�t�) is the dedicated dad who is proud of bookwormish Christian and sports nut Antoine, but has his hands full with rebellious Raymond (Pierre-Luc Brillant). Zac and dad have a grand old time, the latter cool with his dark shades and wide selection of Patsy Cline and Charles Aznavour records, but the relationship hits a snag when Zac is caught flirting around in mom's clothes. Zac's identity crisis endures through his teenage years and adulthood where conflict with dad and Raymond continue.

Vall�e doesn't resort to vulgarity, obscenity or even predictable shouting sequences to convey the turmoil afflicting Zac, played in the latter part of the film by a wonderful Marc-Andr� Grondin. Instead, the performance is interior and emotionally powerful, and more often than not the relationships between the many characters are conveyed through action more than dialogue. And despite the presence of a large number of characters, none are stereotypical in their portrayals. A veritable feat for a director.

But Vall�e's most successful plot device is that of using music to credibly and effectively detail the growing process, both physically and emotionally. From 1960s Qu�b�cois pop, to 1970s glam and rock (plenty of Bowie and Rolling Stones), to 1980s punk rock, every song is planned perfectly and makes the soundtrack for "C.R.A.Z.Y." a must-have purchase.

I can only hope that the Academy Award members will give "C.R.A.Z.Y." the time of day, because if ever a Canadian movie deserved a nomination, this is it.

Jim Slotek, JAM! MOVIES

When discussing C.R.A.Z.Y. -- the out-of-the-blue Quebec hit -- it's worth beginning with the feverish "Midnight Mass" fantasy scene everybody talks about.

Zac, the sexually confused, "Christmas baby" attends holiday Midnight Mass on his birthday as he has all his life. Suddenly the choir breaks into "whoo whoos" as the Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil erupts on the soundtrack.

Surrounded by relatives and parishioners who suddenly look at him with joy and revelation, he rises into the air, ascending like Jesus himself.

The scene, which director Jean-Marc Vallee describes as his "delirium," manages to tie together a number of the movie's themes -- from the family belief that Zac (Marc-Andre Grondin) is a "special" child blessed by God with healing powers, to his already overpowering desire to escape from the hell that is his family.

What's strange is that a movie that is so prone to flights of wild fancy also seems so real. The Beaulieus, the family of five boys led by a colourfully macho father with a love for Patsy Cline and Charles Aznavour, are the French-speaking family next door, with all the angst and turmoil that comes with not-so-unusual dysfunction.

It's an achingly emotional and funny portrait, that starts with Zac's birth in the early '60s to a family whose wood-paneled basement is the social centre for a hard-smoking and hard-drinking extended family, who grow and acquire warts in front of our eyes.

Of the five brothers, only Zac and the biker/drug-addict Raymond (Pierre-Luc Brillant) are sharply-drawn. The movie is a "love-story" of sorts between Zac and his father Gervais (Michel Cote), whose immense love for his son can't get past the disappointment over his sexuality. The always-problematic Raymond is the random element, alternately pushing and pulling them apart and together.

Zac's journey is engrossing in and of itself -- from glam-rock Bowie fan to '80s punk, with bouts of self-destruction and a long, futile attempt to be "straight." (The movie is rife with classic rock tunes). But it's the lifelong, ultimately redemptive dance between Zac and Gervais that is C.R.A.Z.Y.'s heart.

Inasmuch as cinematographic tricks can grease the emotional wheels, Vallee brings all guns to bear. Closeups, wonky angles, slo-mo, it's all there -- most noticeably in the endless scenes of smoking. The camera zooms adoringly in on the burning cigarette ends, and fairly caresses trails of smoke as they waft through the air.
It's just one more example of the director's total commitment to the story and the world in which it takes place.