Film Review: C.R.A.Z.Y

[da]

C.R.A.Z.Y. is a coming-of-age and coming-out story set in the 60s through the very early 80s; Zac is the fourth of five sons, born in an unnamed Québec town on Christmas morning, 1960. It's clear he's different from the beginning and his mother believes "Madame Whats-her-name", the neighbourhood mystic, that he's bound for special things. His dad is afraid his son is a sissy. The movie plays out the next 20 years.

When it was over, I told melted_snowball that if they were going to add the magical realism touches, they should've gone further- like Ma Vie en Rose. Now, I don't think so- it had just the right touches: Zac's imagination and his mom's faith do well to set part of the tone. At the same time he's lost in music and his imagination, the movie is driven by Zac trying to be what his dad wants him to be, lying to himself in the process, and finally coming to some form of truth. I felt the coming-out story was slightly hackneyed, but that's probably a result of seeing more than a few of such movies. But this is definitely one near the top of that collection, as well as being a great look at life in the 60s and 70s. (Those clothes! That hair!)

In Québécois French with English subtitles. imdb's page says when it played in France, they provided subtitles to Parisian French, and I can totally believe it. Québécois French is... difficult. ;)

Comments

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

I grew up with family speaking le québécois, and find Parisian hard to understand.

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

I had four years of French, in HS (in upstate NY, not Canada). For whatever reason, we learned Parisian French. I remember being really confused the first time I heard Québécois. ;)

It would all just be simpler if we all spoke... oh, I dunno, Esparanto, or something.