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Cap Tourmente was filmed in Port-au-Persil, Charlevoix in August 1992, and released in Quebec in February 1993. Writer/director Michel Langlois had, however, lived with the concept for many years. In fact, it was in 1969 that he first saw the Mont-Sainte-Marie, the abandoned ship that serves as one of the most characteristic locations of the film. Over the years, he watched her fall further and further into decay. For nine or ten consecutive years he worked as a waiter in l’Été, an inn in St-Joseph-de-la-Rive belonging to Captain Maurice Desgagnés and his wife, the inn that was the inspiration for the film. The first draft of the screenplay was too constraining, being too close to the real-life situation in which he found himself. The story evolved considerably over time. In the beginning, Alfa was merely a maid at the inn. In 1989 she became the sister, but that still didn’t work terribly well. Finally, she became Langois’ alter ego, saying the sort of things he would have wanted to say. This is a translation of the draft revised between the 8th of April and the 9th of May, 1991. At this time the project was still called Ressac (Backwash) which was the working title during filming. It is essentially the basis of the theatrical release, with allowances for the practical considerations of film making, such as last minute rewrites, scene editing, input by the actors, and the contribution of Marcel Beaulieu (Une jeune fille à la fenêtre, Mémoires affectives etc.), who is credited not as a writer, but as a collaborator on the dialogue. Some of the main differences between this draft and the theatrical release are discussed in the section ‘From Script to Screen’. This draft, therefore, if not the actual one received by the actors, will be very close to it. You can imagine them reading it for the first time, getting the feel of the piece, the detailed descriptions of the languid pace of the locality belying the turmoil of this family’s intricate relationships. A real professional challenge for all concerned, particularly for Roy, the inspiration for troubled “eternal adolescent” Alex. Sortie 234 (1988), Langlois’ earlier short feature starring Roy (and Élise Guilbault of course), was a mere rehearsal for this disturbing voyage into the minds of children with an adult’s desires. Langlois’ constant reference was Cocteau’s Les enfants terribles, encouraging his actors to imagine the demands of a child who wants what he wants and wants it now! Due to the disturbing nature of these childlike desires therefore, Alex becomes one of Roy’s least sympathetic characters, but as compelling and convincing as any of his best. He received a Genie nomination for the role in 1993. Download the PDF version of the script
here
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