| Saturday, April 21st - 3:00 pm - Oak Street Cinema 
Director: Louise Archambault The feature debut of Louise Archambault, Familia begs the question “Are we bound to walk in our parents’ footsteps or free to forge our own identities?” |
In this contemporary Quebec family drama, featuring some of Canada’s top actresses, Mimi is an energetic aerobics instructor and gambling addict. When her boyfriend catches her at yet another gaming table, he threatens to cut off her finances. Meanwhile, Mimi’s daughter Marguerite finds herself on a strange bathroom floor after an all-night rave and arrives home to find her mother packing so they can move out, a frequent occurrence. This time, the plan is to drive to California. On the way, they stop at the home of Mimi’s mother, a young-at-heart, sex-crazed card sharp. Mom’s professor boyfriend pronounces “family is the foundation of who we are” before flagrantly groping Mimi. Finally the mother-daughter duo find themselves at the home of Mimi’s childhood friend Janine, an interior designer with a teenage daughter of her own. Janine reluctantly allows them to stay. Janine, whose brother impregnated Mimi with Marguerite long ago, seems to be living the suburban dream. As both women try to refine their mothering skills and set an example for their daughters, conflicting values and character traits begin manifest. In the end, this intense, all-consuming, funny and heartbreaking film demonstrates, “You are who you are, so learn to accept it... and pass it on.”
Cast: Sylvie Moreau, Macha Grenon, Juliette Gosselin and Mylène St-Sauveur
In French with English subtitles, Canada, 102 minutes, 2005, 35mm.
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