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 & 8 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:

CAD6,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,710,169

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

All of the cars driven by the father are Chrysler vehicles.

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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

Zachary Beaulieu 15 à 21 ans: You seem to be sniffing a lot for someone in detox.
Raymond Beaulieu: Socking cock's made you a prick.
Zachary Beaulieu 15 à 21 ans: [reminding Raymond his journey in jail] Your ass must've been raw after prison.
Raymond Beaulieu: You would have enjoyed that, huh?

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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

Referenced in The Rep (2012)

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Soundtracks

Back in Baby's Arms
Written by Bob Montgomery
Performed by Patsy Cline
Cherry River
with permission of Universal Music Canada

User Reviews

Exemplary!

This film shines. It exudes something tangibly different in its at times sensual photography, its sinuous, undulating changes of speed and motion. The story is refreshing, in that, although familiar, it is seen from a new, reluctant perspective - for me at any rate. I loved the embattled religiosity, that there was a loose acceptance in that Zac respected the beliefs of his parents, but never hammers home their differences in that respect. In others, though, inevitably there will be conflict, and perhaps particularly at the time of setting. An excellent character study in so many ways - even secondary characters are satisfactorily fleshed out, or have enough about them to warrant sympathy. Well written, well scored, brilliantly acted, and photographed.

Must go buy, now!