Lilies - Les feluettes (1996)

Director:

John Greyson

Writers:

Michel Marc Bouchard (play)
Michel Marc Bouchard (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 August 1997 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

1952: Bishop Bilodeau visits a québécois prison to hear the confession of a boyhood friend jailed for murder 40 years ago...

Plot Keywords:

Bathtub Sex | Play Within Film | Bloody Kiss | Dual Role | Prisoner

Awards:

8 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Ian D. Clark	...	Chaplain / Father Saint Michel
Marcel Sabourin	...	The Bishop
Aubert Pallascio	...	Older Simon
Jason Cadieux	...	Young Simon
Danny Gilmore	...	Vallier
Matthew Ferguson	...	Young Bilodeau
Brent Carver	...	Countess De Tilly
Rémy Girard	...	The Baroness
Robert Lalonde	...	The Baron
Gary Farmer	...	Timothée
Alexander Chapman	...	Lydie-Anne
John Dunn-Hill	...	Warden
Paul-Patrice Charbonneau	...	Chauffeur
Michel Marc Bouchard	...	Photographer
Khanh Hua	...	Prison Ensemble

Also Known As:

Lilies (Canada: French title) (short title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | USA:R

Company:

Triptych Media

Quotes:

Simone to Valier: I shall be reborn. My breath in the heavens, bear witness. We shall be free. We'll we be loved. If you do truly love me, let your love be known unto me.

Amazing use of "play" technique in a film.

I have seen Lilies on more than one occasion, and am amazed each time at the intricate and ingenious use of the "theatrical" in the movie. When watching the movie from the beginning, it doesn't take a moron to realize that the "play" is being put on by inmates at a prison.

Staying true to the "setting" of the play, the movie uses males to play all roles, including the roles of women. It is unique as the characters in the "play" react and respond to the female roles as if they were women and not men playing women's roles.

There is an incredible depth to the movie that chronicles the life and love lost by Simone through the deception and lies of the "church." There is much more meaning here than just the plight of one man. The movie tell the story of many men and women around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned, and often sacrifice their lives for being true to their love of the same sex. It is good to see a movie that does not portray a same sex relationship as one of casual sex or one-night stands. The relationship is one of committment, of trust, of pain and caring, of going through the good and the bad together. Heterosexuals do not have the corner on good relationships. This movie tries to portray the love between two people and the struggles they faced, largely due to the intolerance and rigidity of the church.