Chaos and Desire (2002)

A seismologist investigates the mysterious cessation of the tides near her Quebec home town.

Director:

Manon Briand

Writer:

Manon Briand

Stars:

Pascale Bussières, Julie Gayet, Jean-Nicolas Verreault

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pascale Bussières	...	Alice Bradley
Julie Gayet	...	Catherine Rolland
Jean-Nicolas Verreault	...	Marc Vandal
Geneviève Bujold	...	Colette Lasalle
Norman Helms	...	Michel
Vincent Bilodeau	...	Simon Deslandes
Gabriel Arcand	...	L'éditeur
Jean-Pierre Ronfard	...	Hanspeter
Stephen Chang	...	Hijikata
Peter Kosaka	...	Mori
Tsuyu Shimizu	...	Yoko
Luc Proulx	...	Réal
Ji-yan Seguin	...	Camille
Denise Dubois	...	Madame Guillet
Suzanne Garceau	...	Soeur Berthe

Storyline

Seismologist Alice Bradley is despatched to her home town of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, to investigate why the tides have stopped flowing there. She is reunited with an old college friend, reporter Catherine Rolland, and meets roguish pilot Marc Vandal. It soon becomes apparent that the problems with the tide coincided with a variety of odd behaviour amongst the Baie-Comeau residents, and Alice gradually realises that the solution to the mystery may be stranger than she ever anticipated.

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Plot Keywords:

skinny dipping | public nudity | full frontal female nudity | female nudity | f rated | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Details

Country:

Canada France

Language:

French English Japanese

Release Date:

11 December 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

Chaos and Desire

Filming Locations:

Baie-Comeau, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

EUR7,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$118,884

Company Credits

Production Co:

Max Films Productions, EuropaCorp

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Helicopter rotor visible in the top left corner of the screen in one shot of Marc's plane flying over the forest, towards the beginning of the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Barney's Version (2010)

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Soundtracks

Lovely Head
Written by Goldfrapp
Performed by Goldfrapp

User Reviews

Poetic But Too Explicit

This film has a lot of good things going for it. The cinematography is awesome if too artificial at times. Some of the takes are too clearly references to classic images but still make for a nice overall look. The acting is generally convincing and precise although a few lines drops the ambiance too abruptly.

The plot itself is interesting if taken as an artistic process. Suspension of disbelief helps greatly as it's best to immerse oneself in the overall experience rather than nitpick on details. Quite a few counterfactual errors are to be expected in such situations. In a way, this could have been a great film if some things had been taken out. At times, the viewer is spoon-fed an interpretation of the "poetry" of the film. Letting the art speak for itself would have helped greatly.

For some reason, the same is true of the previews. Simply put, they seem to say too much although it's hard to tell what effect they would have on someone who knows nothing of the movie.

Let's hope that, next time, Manon Briand will let her artistic sense free and not impose it on the viewer.