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Arguably the most accomplished
and successful of Roy's early (pre-Nikita) films, and certainly one worth watching in
its own right. Directed by Denys Arcand, it was an international hit and won the 1989
Grand Prix at Cannes. The jacket blurb on the Artificial Eye version summarises the film
as "a surprising and dazzling tragi-comic satire on modern life, based around a group
of struggling actors who gather together to perform a new interpretation of the Passion
Play. The local Catholic priest invites Daniel (Lothaire Bluteau), an up-and-coming young
actor, to modernise the annual Church play.". Read Canadian Film Encyclopedia, and a more detailed discussion by Professor Ron Burnett (if link fails try here). But what of Roy’s tiny contribution to this film? He appears well into the film and disappears only 3 minutes later. The Passion Play is reaching a climax with Daniel, as Jesus, already ‘nailed’ to the cross, when detective constable Marcel Brochu (Roy) and his sergeant come to arrest him for earlier having caused a disturbance at an audition (a parody of the story of Christ and the moneylenders in the temple). The sergeant has forgotten his cue card, so Marcel has to read Daniel his rights. After Daniel is helped from the cross Marcel handcuffs him, but has been impressed enough by the performance to congratulate him on the play before taking him into custody. This is an interesting little cameo for Roy playing a none-too-bright policeman, mechanically reading from the card, a little star-struck in the presence of actors, and plainly disorientated in the surreal environment of the crucifixion scene. It is played as a gentle send-up at the height of the drama, and demonstrates Roy’s ability to handle small doses of humour with some skill and subtlety. Roy-related Trivia Co-stars seen elsewhere include : Lothaire Bluteau played the part of Yves in the original stage production of Being at Home with Claude J’en Suis : Drama student Hugo phoned to say he couldn’t accompany Dominique to the art show because he had got a part in ‘a little Arcand film’. Surely a nod to one of Quebec’s most acclaimed directors. |
