| Synopsis
Declared clinically dead after being hit by a vehicle while tending to a
dying deer lying by the roadside, country vet Alexandre Tourneur
eventually surfaces from a long coma, although suffering from acute
amnesia. As he tries to reconnect with the people from his life, his
business partner, brother, father, a wife and daughter he no longer
recognises, images from a distant and apparently violent past come back to
haunt him. The quest to regain his memory leads him to a place he has
sworn never to return to. Only on reaching back to the source does he
discover the truth.
What
the critics say ….
October – November 2004
Le Soleil - Gilles Carignan - 4 ½ stars
A
film to remember
It doesn’t happen often. The almost dizzy feeling of being seated in front
of a great film that sometimes loses us, but which gets deep inside us.
Mémoires affectives,
Francis Leclerc’s second attempt at directing, is an unusual and truly
marvellous film. One of the most accomplished, intriguing and exciting
films of the year. A pure gem.
In an age where many people pass themselves off as ‘film people’, it’s
frankly invigorating to lay eyes on a real filmmaker’s vision. Namely
Leclerc, whose style we have already seen in Une jeune fille à la
fenêtre, a period drama about a woman in remission driven by a lust
for life. A style which is reasserted and further refined in Mémoires
affectives. [ …]
Throughout its course, Mémoires affectives raises a host of
questions which are not always answered, leaving a work that is open to
various interpretations. Disappointing? Not at all. It quickly becomes
clear that the film is more than a Hitchcock thriller, adept at keeping us
in suspense, another Vertigo. Leclerc’s latest, based on a
brilliant screenplay written with Marcel Beaulieu, is also a thoughtful
study of identity and memory, truth, the reliability of recollection, its
intrinsic subjectivity, the emptiness it creates when it’s concealed. [ …]
The success of a film, certainly, is never down to a single person.
Everything here combines to create a world of tremendous richness: the
filmmaker’s rigorous direction, Steve Asselin’s superb half tone
photography, Pierre Duchesne’s music. And great editing! So well
supported, Roy Dupuis delivers a top-notch performance, full of
subtleties, one of the best of his career (a Jutra on the horizon?). In
truth, the whole cast, even the smallest role, contributes a solid rock to
the structure. And what can you say about the countryside of
Charlevoix, its snow-covered valleys, its harsh winter, its barren
landscape which complement magnificently the unique climate of the
film.
To hell with the bad pun! : Mémoires affectives is a film
that will remain engraved on our memories.
Cinoche.com – Karl Filion - 4 ½ stars
Deconstructing Alex
Showing flashes of brilliance in some respects, uniformly brilliant in
others,
Mémoires affectives, apart from being unclassifiable, offers moments
of great atmosphere, due to its exemplary direction and Roy Dupuis who is
‘dazzling’, to extend the metaphor. A veritable Quebecois revelation this
year. [….]
Roy Dupuis gives an intense and consistent performance which reaches its
climax in a moment of ruthlessness, which never fails to shock, the type
of shock that hits without warning. His workmanship in this film is
fascinating; he seems comfortable and becomes totally absorbed in this
utterly uninhibited script, which makes him adorable.
With a film based on a script as well constructed as this one, that’s to
say one that’s measured, well-rounded and rich, it must be difficult to
fail. The combination of ingredients pays dividends - a good
screenplay (which nevertheless sometimes feels a little long –one has to
admit that perfection doesn’t exist), an actor at the height of his
powers, and a young, promising, perceptive director. This time,
fortunately, the dividends are on the screen, and shouldn’t be missed.
Vancouver Courier
- Gudrun Will - 4 ½ stars
Quebec’s Roy Dupuis mesmerises in provocative mémoires
[….] Billed as a thriller but more a meditation on the vagaries of memory
and the unreliability of other people's points of view, this moving story,
co-written by director Francis Leclerc (Une jeune fille a la fenêtre),
is wonderfully engrossing until the very last minute. The film even goes
off on a medical tangent involving a phenomenon called transferred memory
- under hypnosis, Alexandre appears to be an ancient hunter speaking
fluent Montagnais - but it never loses its way. Perfect pacing augments
the smart, watertight script, and Dupuis delivers a compellingly brooding
performance of restrained pain, regret and confusion. While cameraman
Steve Asselin's palette of muted blues, browns, greys and whites is
painterly in its beauty, the visuals never dominate, but perfectly set off
the understated, thought-provoking story.
Échos Vedettes - Louise Jalbert - 4 stars
Roy
Dupuis comfortable in troubled waters
Francis Leclerc’s second feature stars Roy Dupuis who carries this
psychological thriller on his shoulders. In
Mémoires affectives,
the actor cheerfully swims in troubled waters and delivers a low key and
effective performance which will charm not only the fans of le beau Roy.
[…]
Le Cinema -
Stéphanie Nolin - 3 ½ stars
Memories of ourselves
[ …] Roy Dupuis gives an accurate and moving portrayal of this man with a
troubled past. Thanks to his intensity, convincing performances from the
rest of the cast, notably Rosa Zacharie and Maka Kotto, and dazzling
photography,
Mémoires affectives stands out as a film of great quality.
webfrancophonie.com - Vincent Bergeron - 3 ½ stars
Francis Leclerc ‘Mémoires affectives’ (2004)
[ …] A poetic film, it
effectively describes a confused psychological state. Roy Dupuis, almost
too splendid for his own good, spends 1 hour 40 minutes looking for an
actor of his calibre and/or a character as engaging as his own to play
opposite. Despite some overly conventional devices, reassuring to the most
conservative ( e.g. the repetition of loops of voice-over dialogue, the
presence of the repairmen who add nothing to the film), and an almost
televisual structure improved by some brilliant editing, Mémoires
affectives gives the impression of being a cinematographic success
unique to Quebec.
If only for the larger than
life performance by Roy Dupuis and the harmony between the visuals and the
screenplay, Mémoires affectives is a film that’s not easily
forgotten – with apologies for the cliché.
<<
on a reprint of this review, ‘Take 2’, VB revised his grading to 4 stars
>>
web.choq.fm - Martin Gignac – 2 ½ stars
An
unmemorable film
After
Une jeune fille a la
fenêtre, a first
feature film which was as successful as it promised, Francis Leclerc slips
on the ice with
Mémoires affectives.
[ …] As for Roy Dupuis, he is, for once, believable and perfectly at ease.
However, the pawn in the story turns out to be Rosa Zacharie, the likeable
and mysterious policewoman of whom unfortunately little is seen. A gap
which defines all of the supporting characters who vanish as soon as
they’ve handed over the relevant information to the star of Nikita.
[ …] It’s long
without being completely boring, interesting but not enlightening. What’s
most upsetting is coming out of the theatre and not being able to remember
a thing!
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