The Men (French: Les Mâles) is a Canadian crime comedy film, written and directed by Gilles Carle and released in 1971.[1] The film centres on Jean (Donald Pilon) and Émile (René Blouin), a lumberjack and a student who have been living off the grid in the wilderness, who decide that they need a woman to join them and head into town to look for one.[2] They resort to kidnapping Dolores (Katerine Mousseau), a prison guard who is the daughter of the village police chief, leading the villagers to mount a vigilante mob to capture Jean and Émile and bring them to justice.[3]
| The Men | |
|---|---|
 | |
| French | Les Mâles |
| Directed by | Gilles Carle |
| Written by | Gilles Carle |
| Produced by | Louise Ranger |
| Starring | Donald Pilon René Blouin Andrée Pelletier |
| Cinematography | René Verzier |
| Edited by | Gilles Carle |
| Music by | Stéphane Venne |
Production company | Onyx Films |
| Distributed by | France Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | French |
The film's cast also includes Andrée Pelletier and Guy L'Écuyer.
Martin Knelman of The Globe and Mail reviewed the film favourably, writing that "At his most brilliant, Carle achieves a form of comedy that's part Rabelaisian and part Keystone Kops, but just under the surface of slapstick raucousness there's a sense of desperation, of despair on the brink of violence and defeat. This double-sighted attitude is what gives Carle's movies their peculiar comic edge and their self-propelling energy."[3]
Reception edit
The film was seen by 302,950 people in France.[4]
References edit
- ^ Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN 1-894073-21-5. p. 143.
- ^ Jacques Siclier, "'Les Mâles', de Gilles Carle". Le Monde, May 20, 1972.
- ^ a b Martin Knelman, "Les Males: Carle's slapstick celebration of Quebec society". The Globe and Mail, June 17, 1972.
- ^ Marshall 2001, p. 85.
Works cited edit
- Marshall, Bill (2001). Quebec National Cinema. McGill–Queen's University Press. ISBN 0-7735-2103-8.
External links edit
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