C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

A young French-Canadian, growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging homosexuality with his father's conservative values and his own Catholic beliefs.

Director:

Jean-Marc Vallée

Writers:

François Boulay, Jean-Marc Vallée

Stars:

Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx

38 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michel Côté	...	Gervais Beaulieu
Marc-André Grondin	...	Zachary Beaulieu 15 à 21 ans
Danielle Proulx	...	Laurianne Beaulieu
Émile Vallée	...	Zachary Beaulieu 6 à 8 ans
Pierre-Luc Brillant	...	Raymond Beaulieu 22 à 28 ans
Maxime Tremblay	...	Christian Beaulieu 24 à 30 ans
Alex Gravel	...	Antoine Beaulieu 21 à 27 ans
Natasha Thompson	...	Michelle 15 à 22 ans
Johanne Lebrun	...	Doris
Mariloup Wolfe	...	Brigitte 15 à 20 ans
Francis Ducharme	...	Paul
Hélène Grégoire	...	Madame Chose
Michel Laperrière	...	Psychothérapeute
Jean-Louis Roux	...	Prêtre
Mohamed Majd	...	Bédouin

Storyline

Born Christmas Day 1960, Zac Beaulieu is the fourth of five sons of Gervais and Laurianne Beaulieu. Zac feels somewhat disconnected to his brothers, all of whom are different from each other. They include the bookworm Christian who is the eldest, the dumb jock Antoine who is third, and the youngest Yvan. But Zac has the most contempt for his second eldest brother, the shiftless druggie Raymond. To his devout Catholic mother, Zac is her miracle son, both for being born the same day as Jesus Christ (a fact which Zac has always hated), and because a Tupperware-selling mystic once told her that he has the power to heal. Laurianne has always coddled Zac, the two who have a special if unspoken bond. But Zac wants more to please his father, who wants more than anything in his sons that they grow up to be man's men and not sissies. As Zac goes through his mid-teens to early twenties, Zac isn't sure if he can live up to the ideals of either his mother or especially his father. A young man with...

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Plot Keywords:

punctuation in title | gay brother | closeted homosexual | death by overdose | drug overdose | 

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Taglines:

Growing up in this family, you'd have to be... C.R.A.Z.Y.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

the official trailer

Country:

Canada

Language:

French English German Spanish Polish

Release Date:

3 March 2006 (Italy)

Also Known As:

C.R.A.Z.Y.

Filming Locations:

Essaouira, Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 6,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Téléfilm Canada, Québec Crédit d'Impôt Cinéma et Télévison, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min (Québec) 127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White (flashback scenes) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the official Canadian entry for the "Best Foreign Language Film" category at the 2005 Academy Awards, but it did not end up as one of the five foreign language films to be nominated.

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Goofs

Just after hearing Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part One)" and the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil", we see several music albums, and among them is Pink Floyd's "Animals". The scene is supposed to be occurring in 1975, and "Animals" was released in 1977.

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Quotes

Gervais Beaulieu: [about gay people] You've got to be sick to keep your penis in someone else's ass!
Laurianne Beaulieu: [pause] Hmm... You have bad memory.
Gervais Beaulieu: [pause] Well... that was different...

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Crazy Credits

The end titles finish showing the first names of the five sons in capital letters in the order of birth: Christian . Raymond . Antoine . Zacharie . Yvan . Then all the letters dissolve, with the exception of each first letters, thus creating (and explaining) the title of the film: C.R.A.Z.Y.

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Connections

References Enter the Dragon (1973)

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Soundtracks

Minuit, Chrétien / O Holy Night
French lyrics by Placide Cappeau (uncredited) and music by Adolphe Adam
Performed by Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal

User Reviews

Quebec cinema is a hidden gem in North America and C.R.A.Z.Y. shines like a diamond.

This is an outstanding film. Quebec cinema is a hidden gem in North America and C.R.A.Z.Y. shines like a diamond among the lumps of coal put out by the big name studios in the U.S. Jean-Marc Vallée (director) proves that you do not need mega-bucks to make a quality film (C.R.A.Z.Y. cost 7 million dollars to produce). The acting is outstanding and it must have been a pleasure for the cast to work with such a great script and story. To call this a coming of age story or a coming out story would be selling it short. This is a film about family dynamics and it works on so many levels it is unfair and impossible to pigeon hole this film. Being an ex-patriot ( I am from the U.S. but now live in Montreal) I hope this films gets some play in the U.S. as it is too good to be missed. If it does not wait for it on IFC, Sundance or on DVD and see it then. Bravo to Jean-Marc Vallée and the cast and crew of this film...Outstanding work!