French language movies always have a mountain to climb when it comes to global acceptance, more so than their English language counterparts. Yet some of cinema's true gems have been included in the French language movies of bygone years, with themes that still resound today. Below, we discuss three French movies made in Canada that would be ripe for a modern update.
Also known as La Mise Finale, the Last Casino stars Charles Martin Smith as Doug Barnes, a mathematics professor who is banned from casinos in Canada. He recruits three students played by Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, and Albert Chung. Together, they train to become experts in blackjack and win $500,000 in a week.
The Last Casino was based on the true story of Bill Kaplan, who had an MIT blackjack team that attempted a similar coup. While sounding serious, the movie contains bags of comedy and sharp observations.
With such an interesting theme, it is surprising the movie has not been updated. Since its release, casinos have evolved rapidly, going online, and introducing a wealth of new technologies. Major sites iGaming sites now have massive variations of blackjack, from their basic games to lightning rounds. Most interesting would be an update that included live dealers. These games, found on websites like Williams Hill's Live Casino Canada page, would be a great narrative as they stream dealers from a studio to a device. This would be a great way of capitalising on the intersection between the old and new.
Le Chat Dans Le Sac is a 1964 movie, often known as one of the defining moments of French-Canadian independent cinema. It pioneered a new influx of filmmakers and producers in Quebec and received the Grand Prix Award at the Montreal International Film Festival in 1964. While capturing that zeitgeist would be impossible, the themes of this movie remain as poignant as ever. It is a coming-of-age drama about a person contemplating their place in society.
The movie follows Claude Godbout, a journalist who is entrenched in Montreal society but feels distant from it. His actress lover provides no solace, so he locks himself away in a cabin to mull over his existence. Not only does it contain some great camera shots, but a blistering jazz soundtrack by John Coltrane provides a sonic metaphor for his subconscious.
Updating the movie could involve touching upon modern themes: technological alienation, social media, and the current climate of extremism. With little more than a cabin as a set, all it would need is a terrific actor to take the place of Godbout for a modern update.
Léolo is another coming-of-age drama, but this time with a twist. The story blends the real-life, bleak position of its protagonist, Leo Lauzon, with his fantasy alter ego Léolo. It switches between a squalid picture of life in a Montreal tenement block with his family, to the narrative of his erratic writings.
For some, the movie may be too 'out there'. Yet it won plenty of awards and nominations, including inclusion in Time Magazine's 100 All-Time Movies. Its topics are still relevant now, if not more so, touching on poverty and how it can impact mental health. Léolo is more a movie that needs to be remade than should be.
31.08.2022 | Bruno's blog