Jutras go with the underdog
Brendan Kelly

Mémoires affectives is a film about memory loss, but it turns out Jutra voters didn't forget about this mind-twisting intellectual whodunit. Writer-di­rector Francis Leclerc's second fea­ture took four prizes at La Soirée des Jutra yesterday night, including the big one, for best film of the year.

It was the night of the underdog at the Prix Jutra, with Mémoires affectives, an arty flick that was not one of the year's big hits, taking three of the top awards.  Leclerc won as best direc­tor and, to no-one's surprise, Roy Dupuis took top honours as best ac­tor for his mesmerizing portrayal of a hit-and-run victim who loses his memory. It is easily the best thing Dupuis has done on the big screen since Being at Home with Claude 12 years ago. Glenn Herman also won as best editor for his eye-popping work on Mémoires affectives.

"I think it's a sign that people are looking for films that aren't just commercial," Leclerc said.

"It's a vote of confidence for small-budget films," said Mémoires affectives producer Barbara Shrier. "We're the little guys."

Mémoires affectives just might be the most intriguing major Quebec re­lease of the year. Not unlike Memen­to and Eternal Sunshine of the Spot­less Mind, Leclerc's flick is a thought-provoking look at the nature of memory and what happens when your mind's hard drive is wiped clean. Dupuis plays a veterinarian who can only recall bits and pieces of the first 41 years of his life, and he has to figure out the broken jigsaw puzzle that is his shattered mind.

The film was far from the leading Jutra contender. The Alys Robi biopic Ma vie en cinémascope  led the nomination race going into yester­day's ceremony at Place des Arts and, mathematically, won the most hard­ware, with five trophies. But four of the five Cinémascope awards were in technical behind-the-scenes cate­gories.

The big win for Ma vie en cinémas­cope was for Pascale Bussières, who nabbed the Jutra for best actress for her gutsy turn as Quebec's first inter­national pop star. Few were grumbling about the ac­tor and actress wins for Dupuis and Bussières, given that the two thespians delivered the most exciting per­formances of the year in local film.

With the strong showing by Mémoires affectives and Ma vie en ciné­mascope, the numbers game ensured that a couple of other leading con­tenders were close to shut out. Gritty bank-heist film Le Dernier tunnel won only one Jutra out of its eight nominations, with veteran actor Jean Lapointe taking best supporting actor for his role as a grizzled criminal on what he hopes is his last bank job.

Elles etaient cinq, which had seven nominations, also won only a lone Ju­tra, for Brigitte Lafleur as best supporting actress, in a tie with Sylvie Moreau from writer-director Yves Pelletier's offbeat romantic comedy Les Aimants. Pelletier won for best screenplay, and Carl Bastien and Du­mas deservedly nabbed the Jutra for best music for their Beach Boys-meets-electro score for Les Aimants.

Moreau said it was nice to win along with LafLeur. "You really feel alone when you're waiting to hear who won the award, so there was a feeling of solidarity, of sharing some­thing, when we both won," she said.

What Remains of Us, François Prévost and Hugo Latulippe's moving look at the life of ordinary people in Tibet, won as best documentary, while Christopher Hinton's Oscar-nominat­ed short Nibbles won for best animat­ed film. Denys Arcand's Les Invasions barbares won yet another award as the Quebec film with the most success internationally (for the second con­secutive year), and trailer-park laugh­er Camping sauvage was awarded the Billet d'or as the top box-office per­former of the year.

Guy A. Lepage, who co-directed and starred in Camping sauvage, said he was proud of this public-vote award and not bothered by the fact that the film received only one nomination (for best hairstyling, which it didn't even nab).

"To win this support from the public is huge," Lepage said. "I never thought my first film would sell that many tickets."

The Jutra gala, which was broadcast live on the Radio-Canada TV network, was hosted with verve by comic/actor Patrick Huard. One highlight was a medley of Alys Robi hits performed with gusto by Cinémascope star Bussières. The most moving moment was the tribute to ace cinematographer and director Michel Brault, who received a lifetime-achievement award. Arcand presented the award, calling Brault “notre pere cinamatographique” << the father of our film industry >>.