Jacques et novembre (Canada, 1984) 72 min color DIR-SCR-PROD: Jean Beaudry, Francois Bouvier. MUSIC: Michel Rivard. DOP: Serge Giguère. CAST: Jean Beaudry, Léa-Marie Cantin. (Cinema Libre)
After this film screened at a film festival in Japan, the audience was astonished to see the film’s lead actor come onto the stage. Everyone thought that this film featured a “real” dying person. As you might guess, Jacques et novembre is a pseudo-documentary, and more fascinating for what it aspires than what it achieves. This movie within a movie (shot in colour 16mm and black-and-white video) is about a young filmmaker who makes a month-long video diary, with title cards beginning each day, about his ailing friend. Still, with such an intriguing premise, too much time elapses before we realize this is the story, and we never really know much more about Jacques -not even what he is dying from- in the “month” spent with him. The ending may disappoint some viewers conditioned for a pay-off: there is no contrivance of the lead character’s death on Day 30. In other words, we are just seeing a piece of time of a dying man: it could be just like any other month in a presumably long ailment. Perhaps with further viewings, what we once interpreted as shortcomings will be seen as assets. Still, it is commendable for its efforts in creating reality with fiction. It is a unique and unusual project to warrant repeat visits. Jacques et novembre should be screened by aspiring filmmakers, for how much ambition can be had in such a small movie, and for its sobering look at the sacrifices required to achieve those visions, most memorably in a scene in which the filmmaker sells everything he has in order to pay for this little project.
Originally published in “Short Takes”, Vol. #1, Issue #11. This column, which randomly collected capsule reviews of films, for once had a theme: all the movies were previously broadcast on Jay Scott’s Film International program.
Greg Woods
Greg Woods has been a film enthusiast since his teens, and began his writing "career" at the same time- prolific in capsule reviews of everything he had watched, first on index cards, then those hardcover dollar store black journals, then an old Mac IIsi. He founded The Eclectic Screening Room in 2001, as a portal to share his film love with the world, and find some like-minded enthusiasts along the way. In addition to having worked in the film industry for over two decades, he has been a co-programmer of films at Trash Palace, and a programmer/co-founder of the Toronto Film Noir Syndicate. He has also written for Broken Pencil, CU-Confidential, Micro-Film, and is currently working on his first novel. His secret desire is for someone to interview him for a podcast or a DVD extra.