Auteur/Provocateur: The Films of Denys Arcand

by Andrea Loiselle (Editor), Brian Mcllroy (Editor)

Overview

With the international critical and commercial successes of Le Declin de l'empire americain (The Decline of the American Empire, 1986) and Jesus de Montreal (Jesus of Montreal, 1989) Denys Arcand has risen to the forefront of Canadian filmmaking. These films brought wider recognition to a director whose career spans 30 years and who has played a pivotal role in the development of our perception of French-Canadian cinema. This collection of essays presents a complete portrait of this fascinating filmmaker.

Arcand has consistently produced intelligent and challenging works whose caustic expositions of society's contradictions leave no one indifferent, from the controversial documentary On est au coton (We're Fed Up, 1970), censored by the National Film Board for its subversive description of the textile industry in Quebec, to Rejeanne Padovani (1973), a fiction film shifting from operatic beauty to graphic violence in its depiction of analysis of the failure of the nationalist dream that underlies the entire French-Canadian culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313296727
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/13/1995
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture , #45
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

ANDRE LOISELLE is presently completing a doctoral dissertation on the cinematic treatment of Canadian and Quebec drama at the University of British Columbia, where he also teaches the history and comparative analysis on the cinemas of Canada and Quebec. He has published articles in such journals as L'Annuaire theatral, Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Essays in Theatre, and Quebec Studies.

BRIAN McILROY is Assistant Professor of Film Studies in the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of British Columbia. He has contributed articles on film to such journals as Film Criticism, Canadian Journal of Film Studies, and Literature/Film Quarterly. He is the author of books on Swedish cinema and on Irish cinema.

Table of Contents

Introduction by André Loiselle and Brian McIlroy
Alone and with Others: Arcand within the Quebec Cinematic and Cultural Context by Pierre Véronneau
Sound Design and Music as tragédie en musique: The Documentary Practice of Denys Arcand by Réal La Rochelle
A Cinema of Radical Incompatibilities: Arcand's Early Fiction Titles by Gene Walz
Gender Relations in The Decline of the American Empire by Denise Pérusse
The Double-Twist Allegory: Jesus of Montreal by Bart Testa
No Big Picture: Arcand and His U.S. Critics by Peter Wilkins
"I Only Know Where I Come From, Not Where I Am Going": A Conversation with Denys Arcand conducted by André Loiselle
Filmography
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Critical overviews of the Quebec filmmaker who has moved in and out of the spotlight during his 30-year career, and most recently acclaimed for The Decline of the American Empire/ (1986) and Jesus of Montreal (1989). The six essays present a mosaic of opposing opinions and perspectives about his relationship to his material and his place in national and international contexts. Also includes a 1993 interview, a filmology, and a secondary bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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