Synopsis
A chronicle of a small town in the Upper Laurentians that, at the turn of the 1960s, became a vacation spot par excellence. Nestled in the heart of a vast territory dotted with numerous lakes, mountains, and rivers, Nominingue was once perceived as a town of misery and hard-living. Over time, the municipality gradually became a place of rest for tourists, typical characters in a world full of money, who tie and untie lukewarm adventures that they don’t even have the will to push to the max.
A word from Tënk
A documentary essay with fictional dreamscapes woven in, Jacques Leduc’s first full length film offers us anthropological insight into the modern seaside resort.
On the shore of a lake where pasty vacationers come to rest in all their boredom, the idleness of the city dwellers (reminiscent of René Bail's Désœuvrés?) half-heartedly overrides the history of the disinherited pioneers who first populated Nominingue. Several of the children of those first settlers of the hostile lands of the Upper Laurentians testify to the destitution and hardships that befell them (including the fabulous Blanche Nantel Matte). Subtly arranging contrasts, Leduc alternates between interviews that reveal a bit of the shocking misery of yesteryear with a view of idleness sown in dredge, and cinéma direct sequences that later became his specialty (Chronique de la vie quotidienne). It’s impossible not to mention the smile and gaze of the incredible Françoise Sullivan, who pierces the screen with her peaceful presence, languid by Denys Arcand’s side, who plays more or less his own role of a mildly disillusioned historian. The daring editing of those fictional sequences (for example, the desynchronization of the sound) foreshadows the amazing creativity of the duo that Leduc would often form, teaming up with Pierre Bernier in his subsequent films.
Richard Brouillette
Filmmaker, producer, chicken farmer, and accountant
