The Time Thief (French: L'Arracheuse de temps) is a 2021 Canadian period drama and fantasy film directed by Francis Leclerc, based on the 2009 story by Fred Pellerin of the same name. It stars Jade Charbonneau, Marc Messier, Céline Bonnier, Guillaume Cyr, Émile Proulx-Cloutier, Marie-Ève Beauregard, Pier-Luc Funk, Sonia Cordeau, and Geneviève Schmidt. The film was theatrically released by Les Films Séville on November 19, 2021.

The Time Thief
Theatrical release poster
FrenchL'Arracheuse de temps
Directed byFrancis Leclerc
Screenplay byFred Pellerin
Based onL'Arracheuse de temps
by Fred Pellerin
Produced byAntonello Cozzolino
Starring
CinematographySteve Asselin
Edited byIsabelle Malenfant
Music by
  • Fred Pellerin
  • Éloi Painchaud
Production
company
Attraction Images
Distributed byLes Films Séville
Release date
  • November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)[1]
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench
Budget> $7 million[2]
Box office$894,308[3]

Premise edit

An illness-worn grandmother tries to convince her 11-year-old grandson that death does not exist. She tells him about the adventures of her youth in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, in 1927, when she had tried to eliminate death in the village.[4]

Cast edit

Production edit

Development edit

 
Fred Pellerin wrote the short story The Time Thief in 2007, adapting it into a feature film years later.

Fred Pellerin wrote the story L'Arracheuse de temps in 2007 shortly after the death of his father.[11] On March 30, 2016, it was announced that a feature film adaptation of the story had been in the works from the production company Attraction Images.[12] While working on the 2017 film Barefoot at Dawn with director Francis Leclerc, Pellerin wrote part of the initial screenplay for the film.[13] On January 18, 2019, Leclerc revealed that he would direct the film, from a now-completed screenplay written by Pellerin.[14] On April 8, 2019, the film's screenplay was submitted to SODEC, who announced on December 16, 2019, that they would be funding the film.[15][16]

Filming edit

Filming for The Time Thief was divided into two filming blocks; the first began on October 13, 2020, in Saint-Armand, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.[2][17] Filming for the first block, which was mainly focused on shooting exterior scenes, continued in areas around the municipality of Montérégie, and concluded on October 30, 2020.[18][19] Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fred Pellerin was not allowed to visit the film's set until October 15, 2020.[20] The second filming block took place in April 2021 in areas around Montreal, with the intentions of shooting the film's interior scenes in a studio.[4][21]

Release edit

The Time Thief was theatrically released by Les Films Séville in the Canadian province of Quebec on November 19, 2021.[21]

Accolades edit

Accolades received by The Time Thief
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Canadian Screen Awards April 10, 2022 Best Adapted Screenplay Fred Pellerin Nominated [22]
Best Art Direction/Production Design Arnaud Brisebois, Jean Babin, Ève Turcotte Won
Best Costume Design Josée Castonguay Nominated
Best Hair Janie Otis Nominated
Best Visual Effects Alain Lachance, Loïc Laurelut, Eric Clément, Marie-Claude Lafontaine Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ "L'arracheuse de temps de Francis Leclerc prendra l'affiche le 19 novembre 2021" [Francis Leclerc's The Time Thief will be showing on November 19, 2021]. Lien Multimedia (in French). December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Hebert, Claude (October 20, 2020). "Le village de Saint-Armand sous les projecteurs pendant neuf jours" [The village of Saint-Armand in the spotlight for nine days]. Journal L'Avenir et des Rivières (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "Box office québecois" [Quebec box office]. Cinoche.com (in French). Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Demers, Maxime (October 8, 2020). "Le film L'Arracheuse de temps bientôt en tournage" [The film Snatching Time soon to be filmed]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e "L'Arracheuse de temps : Attraction Images dévoile la distribution du prochain long métrage de Fred Pellerin" [L'Aracheuse de temps: Attraction Images unveils the cast of Fred Pellerin's next feature film]. Lien Multimedia (in French). October 12, 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hardy, Par Karl (October 9, 2020). "L'Arracheuse de temps : découvrez la distribution du film basé sur un conte de Fred Pellerin!" [The Time Thief: discover the cast of the film based on a tale by Fred Pellerin!]. enVedette (in French). Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lambert, Marie-Eve (October 8, 2020). "Une distribution cinq étoiles pour L'Arracheuse de temps" [A five-star cast for L'Aracheuse de temps]. Le Soleil (in French). Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Fournier, Laurence (October 8, 2020). "Découvrez la distribution du film L'arracheuse de temps" [Discover the cast of the film The Time Snatch]. Cinoche.com (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  9. ^ Roy, Marie-Josee (October 29, 2020). ""FLQ: la traque": retour au jeu pour Émile Proulx-Cloutier" ["FLQ: the hunt": return to the game for Émile Proulx-Cloutier]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  10. ^ ""Les Appendices", le théâtre… Sonia Cordeau se confie sur ses projets" ["Les Appendices", the theater… Sonia Cordeau confides in her projects]. Métro (in French). November 6, 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Demers, Maxime (October 9, 2020). "Le film L'Arracheuse de temps bientôt en tournage" [The movie Snatching Time soon to be filmed]. TVA Nouvelles (in French). Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  12. ^ Ramond, Charles-Henri (March 31, 2016). "Un troisième long métrage inspiré par Fred Pellerin" [A third feature film inspired by Fred Pellerin]. Films du Québec (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  13. ^ Lussier, Marc-Andre (October 8, 2020). "Le tournage de L'arracheuse de temps peut commencer" [The filming of The Time Thief can begin]. La Presse (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  14. ^ R. Roy, Marie-Josee (January 18, 2019). "Plus de cinéma et moins de télévision pour Francis Leclerc" [More cinema and less television for Francis Leclerc]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  15. ^ Pier-Olivier Gagnon, Par (April 8, 2019). "Fred abandonne son projet de salle de spectacles" [Fred abandons his concert hall project]. L'Écho de Maskinongé (in French). Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  16. ^ Houde, Francois (December 16, 2019). "Le film sur L'Arracheuse de temps prend forme" [The Time Snatcher film takes shape]. La Tribune (in French). Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  17. ^ Demers, Maxime (October 17, 2020). "Un projet ambitieux pour Francis Leclerc" [An ambitious project for Francis Leclerc]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Bouchard, Frédéric (September 3, 2020). "Le tournage de L'Arracheuse de temps s'enclenchera à la mi-octobre" [The filming of The Time Thief will start in mid-October]. Lien Multimedia (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  19. ^ Lambert, Marie-Eve (September 8, 2020). "Le tournage de L'Arracheuse de temps, de Fred Pellerin, aura lieu à St-Armand" [The shooting of L'Arracheuse de temps, by Fred Pellerin, will take place in St-Armand]. La Voix de l'Est (in French). Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  20. ^ Langevin, Eric (October 13, 2020). "Un film encore plus près de l'imaginaire de Fred Pellerin" [A film even closer to the imagination of Fred Pellerin]. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (in French). Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Houde, Francois (December 17, 2020). "L'Arracheuse de temps: une sortie en novembre prochain" [The Time Snatcher: an outing next November]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  22. ^ Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.

External links edit