La face cachée de la lune (2003)

Director:

Robert Lepage

Writer:

Robert Lepage (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 2004 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After the death of his mother, a man tries to discover a meaning to his life, to the universe and to rebuild a relationship with the only family he has left: his brother.

Plot Keywords:

Lecture | Video | Narcissism | Universe | Russian

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Robert Lepage	...	Phillippe / André
Anne-Marie Cadieux	...	La mère
Marco Poulin	...	Carl
Céline Bonnier	...	Nathalie
Fabrice Mongeau	...	Philippe á 15 ans
Raphaël Dury	...	Philippe á 7 ans
Étienne Bouchard-Dauphin	...	André á 8 ans
Gregory Hlady	...	L'interpréte
Yves Amyot	...	Le barman
Richard Fréchette	...	Le médecin
Érika Gagnon	...	Philippe's Supervisor
Sergei Priselkov	...	Alexei Leonov (as Sergei Prisselkov)
Sophie Faucher	...	Presenter
Lorraine Côté	...	Marie-Madeleine Bonsecours
Oleg Belkin	...	Le garde du corps

Also Known As:

The Far Side of the Moon (International: English title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

French | English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-7 | Iceland:12 | Germany:o.Al. | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva)

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

FCL Films

Trivia:

The film is an adaptation of the play of the same name, also written and directed by Robert Lepage.

Goofs:

Continuity: Anomalies in the time-line. Phillipe is supposed to be seven years older than Andre, who was born in July 1962 (year of the laundromat ["lavoir"] scene where his mother goes into labor with Andre). But in July 1969, only seven years later, as Neil Armstrong is stepping onto the moon, according to the credits, Phillipe is 15 and Andre is 8. This would put Phillipe's birth year at 1954 or 1955. But in "present day", Andre reminds Phillipe that he is 42 years old. On their mother's will papers, the date of he death is 11 December 2002. But Phillipe should be 47 or 48 in 2002.

Movie Connections:

Features The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Quirky and thoughtful

I read nothing of this movie before going in and I'm glad I didn't. I think I would have been put off by any reviews.

This is a great story of human interaction and sibling connection while exploring the depths of the great space race and how it affected one boy's life. Beautifully filmed and containing some truly amazing dialogue, Lepage manages to create an insightful, sometimes funny story of one man's struggle with life.

Lepage is a great talent. He not only starred in but also wrote and directed this great little movie. I think many will miss this one which is really sad. Movies like this should really be part of everyone's regular viewing. We'd all be much more enlightened characters if that was the case.

8/10 Innovative, fun and entertaining.