''Arlette'' is a Canadian political satire comedy-drama film, directed by

Mariloup Wolfe Mariloup Wolfe (born 3 January 1978) is a Canadian actress and film director. She went to F.A.C.E. School, an art school in Montreal. She holds a major in Film Production from Concordia University (2001) and a minor in Cultural Studies from Mc ...

and released in 2022. The film stars Maripier Morin as Arlette Saint-Amour, a fashion magazine editor who is invited by the

Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of th ...

(

Gilbert Sicotte Gilbert Sicotte, (born February 18, 1948) is a Canadian actor. Career Sicotte is known for roles in '' The Vultures (Les Vautours)'', '' Little Tougas (Ti-Cul Tougas)'', '' The Years of Dreams and Revolt (Les Années de rêves)'', ''The Secret ...

) to join the cabinet as minister of culture despite her lack of political experience; her unconventional approach to politics reinvigorates the public's engagement with arts and culture, but places her in the crosshairs of finance minister Paul Girouard (

David La Haye David La Haye (born April 19, 1966) is a Canadian actor. Career He began his career in films in Yves Simoneau's ''Dans le ventre du dragon'' opposite such veteran stars as Rémy Girard and Pierre Curzi. With piercing eyes and an intense physic ...

), who wants to cut $100 million from her departmental budget. The film's cast also includes

Claudia Ferri Claudia Ferri is a Canadian actress. She is most noted for her performance as Anna Barberini in the film '' Mambo Italiano'', for which she was a Jutra Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress at the 6th Jutra Awards in 2004, and her starring ro ...

, Patrick Caux, Sandrine Bisson,

Lara Fabian Lara Sophie Katy Crokaert (born January 9, 1970), better known as Lara Fabian, is a Belgian-Canadian pop singer and songwriter. She has sold over 20 million records worldwide as of 2021Broadway World (2017)"Lara Fabian annule finalement sa tourn ...

, Alex Bisping,

Paul Ahmarani Paul Ahmarani (born 1972) is a Canadian actor. Both his parents have a teaching background; one is from Cacouna, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Quebec and the other from the Mediterranean coast. Ahmarani is known for his roles in the movies ''The Left-Hand ...

, Alexandre Nachi, Benoît Brière, Alexandrine Agostini, Kathleen Fortin, Pascal Cameron, Daniel Gosselin, Sophie Caron, Gabriel Dagenais and Carmen Sylvestre. The film opened theatrically in Quebec on August 5, 2022. It was also screened in France at the Angoulême Film Festival on August 24.Maxime Demers
"Sept films québécois seront présentés à Angoulême"
''

TVA Nouvelles TVA Nouvelles is the news division of TVA, a French language television network in Canada. Programs produced by the division include nightly local and national newscasts branded as ''TVA Nouvelles'', as well as the news magazine program ''JE' ...

'', August 17, 2022.

Production

Morin's casting in her first major starring role since having her career disrupted in 2020 by public accusations of verbal and sexual harassment fueled by

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

addiction was controversial. Wolfe noted that the film had been in development for several years and Morin had already been cast by a previous director before the allegations became public, and stated that when she took over the project she auditioned several other actresses but felt that Morin was still the right choice.Élisabeth Lepage-Boily
"Mariloup Wolfe explique pourquoi elle a choisi Maripier Morin pour le film Arlette"
''Showbizz'', August 5, 2022. She further asserted that Morin's status as an actress trying to reestablish her career following a scandal fit in with the film's themes of an ambitious but inexperienced politician butting heads with the establishment. Many scenes in the film were shot in the real

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

.Anne-Frédérique Hébert-Dolbec
"«Arlette», un projet truffé de pièges"
''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

'', August 5, 2022.

Critical response

Anne-Frédérique Hébert-Dolbec of ''

'' rated the film two and a half stars, writing that it was difficult to separate the film from Morin's public image issues.

References

External links

* 2022 films 2022 comedy-drama films Canadian comedy-drama films Canadian political satire films Quebec films French-language Canadian films 2020s French-language films 2020s Canadian films {{2020s-Canada-film-stub