Le chat dans le sac (1964)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Gilles Groulx

Release Date:

8 August 1964 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Canada | French Canadian | Alienation | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Journalist

Cast

Claude Godbout	...	Claude
Barbara Ulrich	...	Barbara
Manon Blain	...	Manon
Jean-Paul Bernier	...	Jean-Paul
Véronique Vilbert	...	Veronique
André Leblanc	...	Toulouse
Paul-Marie Lapointe	...	Himself
Pierre Maheu	...	Himself
Jean Dufresne	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Cat in the Sack (USA)
The Cat in the Bag

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hivernam (2002)

The State meets New Wave

This NFB production, transformed mid-project into a 35mm feature by director Groulx, must have been a traumatic viewing experience to Quebeckers accustomed to decades of church-sponsored morality plays. It is the first Canadian film to have absorbed the stylistic and thematic tics of the French New Wave. It's radical-boy-and-liberal-girlfriend just like Godard, only this one takes the side of the girl, which is nice. While there are some impressive rhetorical flourishes, this is a study in rebellion, not a rebellion in itself - which is what happens when you ask a government agency to produce a French New Wave film. Anyway, the boy goes to live in the country and sulk while reading newspapers, while the girl stays in town and gets fed up with him. So in other words, it resonated! I don't care if it fails to present any empowering solution to the guy's nihilist radicalism. I loved this film, it's beautiful.