Equinox (1986 film)

Equinox (French: Équinoxe) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Arthur Lamothe and released in 1986.[1] Lamothe's first narrative feature film in 18 years after having concentrated exclusively on documentary films since 1968's Dust from Underground (Poussière sur la ville), the film stars Jacques Godin as Guillaume, a man returning to his hometown for the first time since being wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit, in order to confront the former friend whose false testimony resulted in Guillaume being sent to prison.[2]

Equinox
FrenchÉquinoxe
Directed byArthur Lamothe
Produced byNicole Lamothe
Written byArthur Lamothe
Gilles Carle
Pierre-Yves Pépin
StarringJacques Godin
Music byJean Sauvageau
CinematographyGuy Dufaux
Edited byFrançois Gill
Production
company
Les Ateliers audiovisuels du Québec
Release date
  • August 25, 1986 (1986-08-25) (MWFF)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

The cast also includes Marthe Mercure, André Melançon, Ariane Frédérique, Marcel Sabourin, Luc Proulx and Gaston Lepage.

The film was shot in the rural Îles de Sorel near Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, in 1985,[3] and premiered at the 1986 Montreal World Film Festival.[4]

Critical response

In his 2003 book A Century of Canadian Cinema, Gerald Pratley called the film a triumph of cinematography over script.[5] For the Montreal Gazette, Bruce Bailey dismissed the film as "something of a cross between a Beachcombers episode and something from Walt Disney's Adventureland", concluding that it "has more depth than something made for TV. But only barely."[1]

José Arroyo of Cinema Canada reviewed the film more positively, writing that "the film works best as a psychological drama with Guillaume's journey of self-discovery as a focus...Lamothe's experience as a documentary filmmaker here serves him very well." He concluded that "Equinoxe could have used a tighter structure. But it is very well acted and beautifully shot. I find the image of a leonine Godin, paddling a canoe through marshes to come to a rendez-vous with his past, unforgettable. A film that has this much going for it deserves to be seen by more people."[2]

Awards

The film received two Genie Award nominations at the 8th Genie Awards in 1987, for Best Cinematography (Guy Dufaux) and Best Original Song (Gilles Vigneault for "Les îles de l'enfance").[6]

References
  1. Bruce Bailey, "Equinoxe crosses line into the unbelievable". Montreal Gazette, August 26, 1986.
  2. José Arroyo, "Arthur Lamothe's Equinoxe". Cinema Canada, December 1986. p. 25.
  3. Léo Bonneville, "Arthur Lamothe tourne Équinoxe aux îles de Sorel". Séquences, No. 122 (October 1985).
  4. "Montreal film festival lineup set". Toronto Star, July 30, 1986.
  5. Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN 1-894073-21-5. p. 70.
  6. Greg Quill, "Decline rises to top Genie nominations". Toronto Star, February 5, 1987.
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