“I really like the film that I made Café de flore.” – Jean-Marc Vallée
The two most
important Canadian films are Gilles Carle’s La vie heureuse de Léopold Z and Jean-Marc Vallée’s C.R.A.Z.Y. (and, you could probably add
to this list, Matt Johnson’s Operation
Avalanche once people get a chance to see it). With these films something
changed in the national landscape. They’re poetic leaps in the air, with a
total disregard for conventions, and they achieve something that is of the
highest order.
Vallée is one of
the most unique directors in the country. First off, for his use of music.
Similar to Martin Scorsese or Cameron Crowe, Vallée’s soundtracks build
character depth and organize the movement of the films. The recent CD release
of Wild, with its personal liner
notes, is a great example of the attention and care that goes into them. As
well, in Café de flore, the main
character of the film, who plays a surrogate for the director, is a DJ.
Vallée’s is a
post-Spielbergian cinema. The economy of tent-pole blockbusters has created an
anxiety within the film industry which has fostered the creation of new filmmaking
models. Vallée, who shares many themes with Spielberg (the father-son
reconciliation at the end of C.R.A.Z.Y.,
the humanism of Dallas Buyers Club),
then has to make these smaller-scale films, that are centered around universal human dramas and which
have a sophisticated directorial style. It’s an approach similar to Steven
Soderbergh’s in that they create an alternative filming model, while still
attracting A-list stars which guarantees them an audience. There’s even a
focus on medicine and health-care which connects both these filmmakers. But
what makes Vallée even more essential is the heart and personal drive behind
each film. Since Les fleurs magiques,
C.R.A.Z.Y, Café de flore and all of
the way to his most recent American films he’s been telling the same story. They're all about human imperfection, as comically illustrated in Jean-Marc by Annie St. Pierre, but also that of being a scared
child who'se dropped into an unwelcoming world.
In Café de flore, which is his favorite of his films, he tells the same story as in C.R.A.Z.Y. of growing up in Montreal but now without the François Boulay contribution. It’s his most personal and free work. Some of these personal touches include his cameo in the film or the casting of his son Émile as the character's younger self.
In Café de flore, which is his favorite of his films, he tells the same story as in C.R.A.Z.Y. of growing up in Montreal but now without the François Boulay contribution. It’s his most personal and free work. Some of these personal touches include his cameo in the film or the casting of his son Émile as the character's younger self.
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