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:

€7,000,000 (estimated)

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

When Marc and Alice first kiss while standing on the beach, Alice rests her head on Marc's right shoulder, then in the next shot her head is on his left shoulder.

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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

Uneven but interesting film

This beautifully photographed film tells the story of a scientist woman trying to explain an unusual phenomenon taken place in the Saint-Lawrence river in a recluse region of northern Quebec. Her work will take her to a journey she was not expecting which primarily deals with her own private longings. Some may say that the film takes way too long to get to the point which, from that perspective, must be the love story. Others may argue the exact opposite; that the love story is secondary to the natural disaster plot it therefore dilutes. I tend to believe that both stories are moving along at the same rate which is fairly slow and might even be perceived as hesitant. The overall effect is one of a very well done piece of cinema with a powerful dramatic finale but also of an almost lazy script that should have went through a couple more rewrites. In short, an uneven film with still lots of charm.