La grande séduction (2003)

Director:

Jean-François Pouliot

Writer:

Ken Scott (writer)

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A much-needed boost, in the form of a new factory, is promised to the residents of the tiny fishing village St. Marie-La-Mauderne, provided they can lure a doctor to take up full-time residency on the island. Inspired, the villagers devise a scheme to make Dr. Christopher Lewis a local.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Fishing | Island | Cricket | Boat

Awards:

15 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Raymond Bouchard	...	Germain Lesage
Dominic Michon-Dagenais	...	Germain Lesage enfant
Guy-Daniel Tremblay	...	Rolland Lesage
Nadia Drouin	...	Simone Lesage
Rita Lafontaine	...	Hélène Lesage
Roc LaFortune	...	Charles Campeau
Réal Bossé	...	Denis Lacoste
Guy Vaillancourt	...	Claude Larivée
Lucie Laurier	...	Eve Beauchemin
Pierre Collin	...	Yvon Brunet
Ken Scott	...	Richard Auger
Jean-Pierre Gonthier	...	Réal Fournier
Benoît Brière	...	Henri Giroux
Marc Legault	...	Marcel Sigouin
Caroline Girard	...	Lucie Giroux

Also Known As:

Seducing Doctor Lewis (International: English title)
Seducing Dr. Lewis (International: English title) (poster title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | South Korea:All | Canada:G (Québec) | Germany:o.Al. | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Unrated | Australia:M | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Fox Island, Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)

Trivia:

When the factory agent returns to the restaurant to retrieve his hat, he inquires where all the townspeople have gone, and is told by the banker (according to the subtitles), "It's 7 o'clock, they have gone home to watch ET." Actually he says that as it is 7 o'clock, they have gone home to watch "Virginie", a French-Canadian serial drama.

Goofs:

Continuity: There are two scenes at the Giroux dinner table where Henri asks if Lucie has an announcement. The scenes are supposedly days apart, yet each member of the family is wearing the same outfit and they are eating the same meal in each scene.

Movie Connections:

References "Entertainment Tonight" (1981)

Local Hero meets Ned Devine

What is it about remote coastal communities that makes them so perfect for feel-good funnies such as these? There's something evocative and atavistic about the sea and fishing folk. Maybe it's somewhere in the roots of all of us, and we never fail to delight in seeing those apparently simple folk, apparently locked into a fading past, nevertheless conspire to outsmart the sophisticated city slicker who comes into their midst. I must go down to the sea again, and even on a balmy Perth summer evening at one of our beautiful outdoor cinemas I could almost smell the cod and kelp and feel the keen north Atlantic wind as it tore through Ste Marie la Mauderne.

The plot was indeed clever and ironical. Dr Chris Lewis was NOT ultimately seduced by cricket, beef stroganoff, fishing, "lucky" $5 bills placed in his path, fusion jazz, nor even the lovely Eve, whom we all thought would prove the clincher in a Hollywood "boy gets girl" finale. No, not at all. He was seduced by the honest and genuine needs of a community who felt the need to resort to every degree of dishonesty to try and win his heart with all those things which ultimately proved trivial.

Congratulations, Canada Francophone, this one was a real beauty. Dix points!