Polytechnique (2009)

A dramatization of the 1989 Montréal Massacre, during which several female engineering students were murdered by an unstable misogynist.

Director:

Denis Villeneuve

Writers:

Jacques Davidts (scenario and dialogue), Denis Villeneuve (collaboration)

Stars:

Maxim Gaudette, Sébastien Huberdeau, Karine Vanasse

16 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maxim Gaudette	...	The Killer
Sébastien Huberdeau	...	Jean-François
Karine Vanasse	...	Valérie
Martin Watier	...	Jean-François (voice)
Evelyne Brochu	...	Stéphanie
Johanne-Marie Tremblay	...	Jean-François' Mother
Natalie Hamel-Roy	...	Jean-François' Mother (voice) (as Nathalie Hamel-Roy)
Pierre-Yves Cardinal	...	Éric
Pierre Leblanc	...	Mr. Martineau
Francesca Barcenas	...	Injured Student at Copier
Eve Duranceau	...	Student with the Ear Injury
Mathieu Ledoux	...	Injured Student
Adam Kosh	...	Killer's Roommate
Larissa Corriveau	...	Killer's Neighboor
Manon Lapointe	...	Killer's Mother

Storyline

On December 6, 1989, a lone gunman walked into Montréal's École Polytechnique (in Canada), a post-secondary institution focusing primarily in engineering, and began a shooting massacre. This event and its aftermath are shown from the perspective of three people. The first is the shooter himself, who blamed the problems in his life on who he considered feminists, such as female engineering students, who were his primary targets. This event was the culmination of a seven year plan, which had a self-defined end. The second is female mechanical engineering student Valérie, who earlier that day had an interview for her dream internship, working on an aerospace project. The interview process itself was a disturbing one for her in the stereotypical view by the male interviewer, who did not believe that females could work in the business and still have aspirations to have a family. And the third is Jean-François, Valérie's friend and fellow mechanical engineering student, who was one of the ...

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Plot Keywords:

misogynist | gunman | in medias res | montreal quebec | insanity | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the perpetrator is never once mentioned in the film.

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Quotes

Valérie: If I have a boy, I'll teach him how to love. If I have a girl, I'll tell her the world is hers.

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Alternate Versions

In addition to the French-Canadian language version, an English language version was also shot (back-to-back).

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Connections

Featured in The Hour: Episode #7.83 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Love in a Void
Performed by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Written by Siouxsie Sioux (credited onscreen as Susan Ballion), Steven Severin, Kenny Morris, and Peter Fenton

User Reviews

Bang!

The movie starts off with a bang and if you don't know what this is about (like me when I watched this, I hadn't read anything about it), then you will be awed by this very strong beginning. While it's almost like a documentary, it is very strong and has very good natural performances!

It's not for the faint hearted and it will be a very intense and strange watching experience. You can't say that it will entertain you in the normal sense of that word, but it will be gripping and it will be a movie that you won't forget that easily. Whether you like it or not, it is grim and it is down and dirty.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Release Date:

6 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Polytechnique

Filming Locations:

Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument, Montreal, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Remstar Media Partners, Remstar Productions, Don Carmody Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1