Antigone

After the screening of Antigone, I was in shock, filled with awe and admiration. How to explain the conviction that I ( and all the audience) we were witnessing the birth of an important piece of art? I think it might be by dissection, by studying its internal parts.

The first main quality of Sophie Deraspe's "Antigone" is the choice of the theme: the author suggests an analyze of the moral of our society. It is a film about integrity in a society where the rules are fixed and should be respected no matter what. Sophie Deraspe's script it is a meditation about our own implication by adopting an unconcerned view about other people's needs. It is very important to notice the mastery of the plot, the suspense created by the rise of hope that Antigone will be liberated. And to understand the scene in the Juv facility when Antigone's indignation is provoked by the way one of the girls is humiliated. I am in awe about how the author used the role of the chorus in a stunning modern vision: young people follow Antigone's statement "Mon Coeur me dit". My heart told me. Yes, it is a film about the importance of what your heart tells you. The moving scenes of Ménacée, the grandmother, singing in front of the facility where Antigone is prisoner, brings us to understand the real meaning of love. But this same love also triggers the climax : when Ménacée, not to leave Polynice alone, decides to go back to her country, Antigone's fight to keep her family together is broken. She is left alone. This replaces Sophocle's play which ends with Antigone's death with the contemporary meaning: alone in a society that rejects her, Antigone is like being dead. This is the way I understand the last shot of Antigone, the end of Sophie's film. The directorial mastery might be explained by one scene: Eteocle's death. The scene is filmed in a large shot, we barely see the cell phone in Eteocle's hand, we hear the gun shot and Polynice's shout. We want to see it again, to understand how it was possible. And that is mastery. The cast is outstanding. Nahema Ricci's performance is a great tribute to the art of acting. But not only Nahema. Every character brings that aesthetic pleasure to dive into a real world: Ménacée ( Rashida Oussada), Ismène, the judge, Haemon and his father. The movie, filmed by Sophie Deraspe (it is difficult to find a position that was not Sophie's direct work) brings the aesthetic of cinematography to a the highest level: I am still haunted by the intensity of the C.U's, the pure beauty of shots and last, but not least, the editing (yes, Sohie's again) not only of the images but also of the sounds. Antigone is an important film in the world's cinema, a film that makes one think and evaluate his/her own choices.

Antigone is a naive teen, a good high school student, who idealizes and loves her two older brothers. Their family is a refugee from some violent middle-east area, arriving to Canada as small kids with their grandmother for sole support. Unbeknown to Antigone, her brothers are now small time criminals instrumental in the death of some other youth. During a police operation, one brother dies and the other can expect expulsion to his former country.

And that is intolerable to Antigone. No matter what her brothers could have done, one is dead and the other is to be repatriated. So she takes it onto herself to defy the justice and prison systems, to organise her remaining brother's escape and to take whatever rap happens. Her mind is now set, no matter what, to pursue its dramatic logic.

She could be defended in court like any other misguided juvenile delinquent. However her clever lawyer devises a crusader defence to shore up popular support. And the issue becomes should she follow the law of loyalty to her family members and those of society. Antigone makes her choice irrevocably, not acknowledging that it is the laws of her host society that have protected, fed, schooled and medically cared for her family from the moment they set foot in Canada. But the film doesn't make that acknowledgement either; it rather makes it look like cold white society set against poor migrants. And so, Sophocles' masterpiece is recuperated to advance the victimisation rhetoric of the time.

Sophocles' Antigone was a discussion of the dilemma between the necessity of applying laws to protect society versus the duty that one senses to accomplish another duty (family, religious, moral, etc.). This film is less interested in Sophocles' issues and more in showing how someone can lose all senses, and everything else, to pursue a noble if misguided aim. No service is paid to the idea that individuals make decisions that can destroy their families, not to mention their lives, and therefore they should act carefully and responsibly. And so, the film is mostly (good) show and little substance.

Canadian cinema, while of excellent quality, is not well enough known, unfortunately, even in Canada. We, Canadians are reluctant to toot our horn. While I understand modesty, not promoting enough real values is a serious shortcoming.

I am not a skilled review writer and I am afraid I will not do this film justice. But this film touched and awed me so much that, that I could not help it. I had to draw attention to it.

I would rank this film - in terms of depth, execution, impact, thoughtful script, acting - up there with La Strada and Zorba the Greek. It draws you in, it touches you, it leaves you thinking and feeling days and days afterwards. It is an honestly made film. It does not go for shock, easy answers, holier-than-though preaching, or political subtext. (The reviews who see political statements are WRONG.)

it starts with the 25 hundred years old story of Antigone, and, using it as a mold, tells us a story about a refugee family in Quebec. (By the way, do read the synopsis of the Greek tragedy before seeing this film. It gives you needed bearings.)

Hold on here for a moment. The moment the word "refugee" comes up, the sea parts along political lines and entrenched positions. No, they are just a family, and their refugee status does not make them "good" or "bad" or even different from the society around - it is just a backdrop for a millennia-old conundrum: who are we loyal to - the law of the land or the family blood? And how far we are ready to go. Different cultures may see different nuances.

Open your mind, open your heart, and go see this film.

This is a very powerful movie, but I'm not sure weather or not it is a good movie. It definitely is very thought provoking and leaves you (or prehaps just me) in shock at the end. This interpretation of a greek tragedy places itself in a very heavy political context, which, depending on the people, might make it seems like a very political film (which I also believe). Nevertheless, it asks very important political questions regarding individual duties, submission to law and the state, and even philosophical conceptions of what should be a good life and the integrity of conformism. Though, to me, the movie lacks nuance and finess to the profit of a radical approach that does a good job highlighting the main themes and questions of its plot, but which also makes it a bit too extreme and often clunky.

On a technical level, the movie is well shot, with a very eye pleasing cinematography by Sophie Dersape herself. I'm not as much of a fan of the editing and directing (both also from Deraspe), which can be quite ostentatious and even seem a bit forced from time to time, like she's trying a bit too hard. The music is adequate although not revolutionary.

Ricci's performance is outstanding most of the time. The other actors are also doing a very good job, although it often felt a bit unnatural to me.

It's definitely a good film to see but I would recommend reading a bit about the greek story of Antigone and the Freddy Villanueva affaire to understand the political context in which the movie situates itself, but also in order not to misjudge its reach and overestimate the political subtext.

One of the best films of 2019. Great casting and amazing story. A must see movie.