''Between Salt and Sweet Water'' (french: Entre la mer et l'eau douce), also known as ''Drifting Upstream'', is a 1967 Québécois film directed by

Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National ...

, co-written by Brault,

Gérald Godin Gérald Godin (November 13, 1938 – October 12, 1994) was a Quebec poet and politician. Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, he worked as a journalist at '' La Presse'' and other newspapers and magazines. His most important poetry collection, '' ...

Marcel Dubé Marcel Dubé (January 3, 1930 – April 7, 2016) was a Canadian playwright. He produced over 300 works for radio, television, and stage. During his career he promoted the preservation and sanctity of the French language in Quebec. __TOC__ Early ...

Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.

and

Denys Arcand Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (; born June 25, 1941) is a French Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. His film ''The Barbarian Invasions'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004. His films have also been nominated three f ...

. The film also features boxer Ronald Jones in a small role. Jones was one of the subjects of Gilles Groulx's 1961 documentary ''

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

''.

Plot

Claude ( Claude Gauthier) leaves his small town on the

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past Tadous ...

to go to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, where he works several odd jobs and eventually falls in love with Geneviève (

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...

), a pretty waitress who works in a local diner. Claude enters a singing contest that launches his career. As he gradually becomes more well known, he has a brief affair with a married woman and breaks up with Geneviève. He returns to his hometown but nothing seems the same. Back in Montreal, he becomes increasingly more successful as a singer. One night he meets Geneviève backstage, only to learn she is now married, and realizes one can be as lonely in a small town as in a big city.

Cast

Additional information

This film has also been released under the following titles: * - Canada (original title) * - Austria (TV title) / East Germany (TV title) / West Germany (TV title) *Between Sweet and Salt Water - International (English title) *Drifting Upstream - Canada (English title) * - Sweden

Reception

is widely regarded as Michel Brault's most poetic and richly complex film. The film was screened in the

Director's Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

stream at the

1969 Cannes Film Festival The 22nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 23 May 1969. At this festival a new non-competitive section called Directors' Fortnight was added, in response to the cancellation of the 1968 festival. The Grand Prix du Festival International d ...

.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Les films québécois à Cannes à travers l’histoire"
''Films du Québec'', April 28, 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Between Salt and Sweet Water 1967 films Films set in Montreal 1960s French-language films Films directed by Michel Brault 1967 drama films French-language Canadian films Canadian drama films 1960s Canadian films