Aurore (2005)

After the sudden death of her mother, Aurore Gagnon is abused by her disturbed step-mother as her town remains in the silence followed by her death. Based on a true story.

Director:

Luc Dionne

Writers:

Luc Dionne, André Mathieu (novel)

Stars:

Marianne Fortier, Serge Postigo, Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marianne Fortier	...	Aurore Gagnon (10 years)
Serge Postigo	...	Télésphore Gagnon
Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc	...	Marie-Anne Gagnon
Yves Jacques	...	Curé Leduc
Rémy Girard	...	Oréus Mailhot
Stéphanie Lapointe	...	Marie-Anne Caron
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse	...	Marie-Jeanne Gagnon (12 ans)
Alice Morel-Michaud	...	Aurore Gagnon (6 ans)
Michel Forget	...	Nérée Caron
Monique Spaziani	...	Arzélie Caron
Francine Ruel	...	Exilda Lemay
Michel Barrette	...	Adjutor Gagnon
Luc Senay	...	Arcadius Lemay
Gaston Lepage	...	Alphonse Chandonnet
Alain Boucher

Storyline

The year is 1909. In the village of Sainte-Philomène de Fortierville, Marie-Anne Caron, wife to Télésphore Gagnon, gives birth to their second daughter, Aurore. The child grows up in a loving and happy family, but in 1918 her mother dies of tuberculosis. Shortly after, Télésphore Gagnon decides to remarry, having fallen under the spell of his beautiful cousin, Marie-Anne Houde. Marie-Anne is not the devoted stepmother everyone takes her to be, however. Following the death of Aurore, a coroner's inquest reveals that the young girl had died of blood poisoning, brought on by the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepmother. The sensational trial which followed these revelations had a profound and lasting impact on Québec society. Aurore depicts an almost-forgotten period and social milieu of Québec's history, finally giving voice to those who, at the time, knew what was going on but preferred to remain silent.

---

Plot Keywords:

stepmother | trial | priest | silent witness | quebec | 

---

Taglines:

Break the Silence.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 July 2005 (Canada)

Filming Locations:

Drummondville, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinémaginaire Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real Aurore Gagnon was born in 1909 and died on 12 February 1920. She is buried in the Sainte-Philomène de Fortierville cemetery, a small town located a few miles from Québec City, Québec.

---

Connections

Version of La petite Aurore l'enfant martyre (1952)

User Reviews

We are responsible

I grew up in Quebec having heard about "Aurore. I never knew the details of what happened to her but when I cried after my mom beat me, she'd tell me to stop my crocodile tears and that her treatment of me was nowhere near as bad. I just saw the movie. Like others, no doubt, I wanted to climb into the movie and beat the crap out of the step-mother. It also made me so angry at the Church, and had to remind myself that it was not the institution, but rather the individual priest. In any event, this movie reminds us all that where there is abuse of any sort, we are responsible and cannot afford to walk away saying it's none of my business.