20h17 rue Darling (2003)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Bernard Émond

Writer:

Bernard Émond (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This is the story of Gerard, an man who miraculy survived to an explosion that destroyed his appartment and killed a lot of people. During the next days, he tries to find out why he survived and why others died.

Plot Keywords:

Alcoholics Anonymous | Alcoholic | Montreal | Nude In Public | Poorness

Cast

Luc Picard	...	Gérard
Guylaine Tremblay	...	Angela
Diane Lavallée	...	Chantal
Markita Boies	...	Madame Caron
Micheline Bernard	...	Madame Laperrière
Lise Castonguay	...	Marie-Rose
Vincent Bilodeau	...	Lt. Geoffrion
Fanny Mallette	...	Denise
Alexandrine Agostini	...	Nièce de Madame Dumais
Patrick Drolet	...	Karl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Catherine Archambault	...	La vendeuse
Bernard Arene	...	Livreur
Louis Bélanger	...	Pompier
Patrice Bélanger	...	Ami de Patrick
Yvan Benoît	...	Le waiter
Steve Berthelotte	...	Livreur
Alexander Bisping	...	Un pompier
Catherine Bonneau	...	Eve
Manon Brunelle	...	Infirmière
Gaston Caron	...	Le Juge
Michèle Chatelet	...	Adrienne Dumais
Martin Desgagné	...	Cycliste
Daniel Desjardins	...	Livreur
Chantal Deslauriers
Melissa Flynn	...	Jeune femme
Pierre Gendron	...	Le Caid
Zenhu Han	...	La Chinois
Mark Antony Krupa	...	Body guard
Roger Larue	...	Le preparé á la morgue
Claude Lemieux	...	Le Chauffeur
Eric Lortie	...	Ami de Patrick
Bonfield Marcoux	...	Le robinaux
Jean-Marie Moncelet	...	M. Demars
Michel Mongeau	...	Le Peficier
Cédric Pépin	...	Patrick
Micheline Poitras	...	La patronne
Aube Robichaud-Bélanger	...	La petite Josée
Yvon Roy	...	François
Manon Saint-Jules	...	Hélène
Stéphane Simard	...	Pierrot
Louis Sincennes	...	Le Chef Pomoier
Guy Sprung	...	Le preparé á la morgue
Carmen Sylvestre	...	Gaetane
Yves Trudel	...	Official
Guy Vaillancourt	...	Le concierge

Also Known As:

8:17 p.m. Darling Street (International: English title)

Runtime:

Canada:101 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Association Coopérative des Productions Audio-Visuelles (ACPAV)

Melancholic, Québécois masterpiece - ideal for French-language students

This film follows its lead character, Gérard (actor Luc Picard), an alcoholic, former journalist, as he struggles to make sense of a tragic explosion that killed nearly all the neighbors in his apartment building, including a little girl named Josie. The cause: unknown - even to a veteran fire inspector poking through the rubble. So Gérard sets off on his own investigation, seeking out numerous local characters who fill him in with what bits and pieces they have.

The question the keeps recurring is: "Why? Why me? Why did I survive?" In retrospective monologues, Gérard looks upon himself as a 'drunken no-good', deserving least to survive, while innocent little Josie is dead. Though Gérard is estranged from God, he seems to invoke his judgment at every turn. This feels quite Catholic despite the character's cynicism and disavowal of religion, and it also seems to capture a certain AA mindset very well. The characters are such that one can easily be drawn in and sympathize.

Montreal's Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district is exactly as it is. The characters bring it to life, and reveal a culture in an intimate way that an outsider might never otherwise know. It's fascinating; many details give it depth. The spoken French is the local joual, for the most part quite warm. Fortunately, for an anglo trying to master Québécois French, this film is close-captioned in French (rare, I've found, for French films –especially Québécois films - as they often don't have the budget for close-captioning). So, one is able to follow the French word-for-word. Of course it has the standard optional English subtitles.

This is my favorite Québécois film - actually one of my favorite films, ever. I've enjoyed it many times. Qualities that keep drawing me back to it again and again are its haunting musical theme (piano, violin and cello), scenes of Montreal, portrayal of characters who have the capacity to really grow on you, and of course the ongoing, soul-searching monologues - invaluable for mastering an ear for Québécois French.