Le polygraphe (1996)

Lucie Champagne is given the role of the victim, Marie-Claire, in a film of a true, unsolved murder. By coincidence, Lucie's neighbour Francois, was Marie-Claire's boyfriend. He is a ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Lepage

Writers:

Marie Brassard, Patrick Goyette,

Stars:

Patrick Goyette, Marie Brassard, Peter Stormare

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Goyette	...	François Tremblay
Marie Brassard	...	Lucie Champagne
Peter Stormare	...	Christof Haussman
Maria de Medeiros	...	Claude
Josée Deschênes	...	Judith
Richard Fréchette	...	Producer
James Hyndman	...	Hans
Marie-Christine Lê Huu	...	Marie-Claire
Nancy Bernier
Lynda Lepage-Beaulieu
Jacques-Henri Gagnon	...	Inspector
Marco Poulin	...	Inspector
Yves Langlois	...	Policeman - chalet
Rychard Thériault	...	Maitre d'hôtel
Serge Denoncourt	...	Waiter

Storyline

Lucie Champagne is given the role of the victim, Marie-Claire, in a film of a true, unsolved murder. By coincidence, Lucie's neighbour Francois, was Marie-Claire's boyfriend. He is a suspect in the continuing investigation and is unsure of his own innocence although he has an alibi from his previous girlfriend, Claude. Francois' polygraph (lie detector) test proves inconclusive and while he awaits his second test, Lucie's film is completed with its own ideas on who killed Marie-Claire.

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Genres:

Crime

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Details

Country:

Canada France Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

1996 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Polygraph

Filming Locations:

Québec, Canada

Box Office

Gross:

$60,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

In Extremis Images, Cinéa, Road Movies Dritte Produktionen

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004)

User Reviews

Quebecois thriller - high on style, not so high on thrills

Coming across as rather less flaccid on its second viewing (the first being at the LFF 1996), Le Polygraphe still impresses more as an exercise in style over content. LePage himself stated that after the narrative and filmic experimentation of Le Confessional, Le Polygraphe is more concerned with exploring character. To this end it is only partially successful. In giving almost equal time to each of the main characters (especially ones that initially seem to have little bearing on the story), the film lacks a focus. Whilst Patrick Goyette's Francois is too withdrawn to elicit much sympathy in the central role, he is also lost amongst the swamp of sub-stories, and thus the audience is not really given a suitable hook into the main narrative. The film does seem to meander, often threatening to spin off in another direction at any point, though it does so through some interesting territory, and LePage's stylised visuals, despite often treading the line of mere gimmickry, work well. Whilst certainly rather obscure upon first viewing, this is still a respectably well crafted film; atmospheric and certainly not one without interest.