''Deliver Us from Evil'' (french: Délivrez-nous du mal) is a 1969 Canadian drama film, written, directed, and edited by

Jean-Claude Lord Jean-Claude Lord (6 June 1943 – 15 January 2022) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He was one of the most commercial of the Québécois directors in the 1970s, aiming his feature films at a mass audience and dealing with political ...

.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Délivrez-nous du mal – Film de Jean-Claude Lord"
''Films du Québec'', January 8, 2009. One of the first Canadian films ever to address the subject of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

, the film was produced and shot in 1965 but remained unreleased until 1969 due to its sensitive subject matter. The film centres on the emotionally complex and abusive relationship between André ( Yvon Deschamps), a gay man, and Georges (Guy Godin), a bisexual man who was also formerly romantically involved with André's sister Lucille (

Catherine Bégin Catherine Bégin (22 April 1939 – 29 December 2013) was a Canadian actress. Biography Catherine Bégin's parents were Quebec sound engineer Lucien Bégin (1895–1964) and Belgian accountant Marie-Louise Vanhavre (or Van Havre) (1906–196 ...

). When a vacation at a hotel ends with Georges having sex with a woman, André is driven to attempt both

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

because of his inability to secure Georges' affections. The film was not well received by critics, and has subsequently been heavily criticized as a "sordid" film that relies too heavily on outdated stereotypes of homosexual men. The film's representation of gay identity was most prominently analyzed by Thomas Waugh in a 1981 article for the magazine ''Copie Zéro''. Thomas Waugh
"Nègres blancs, tapettes et « butch » ; les lesbiennes et les gais dans le cinéma québécois"
''Copie Zéro - Vues sur le cinéma québécois'', October 1981. Due to its controversial reception, following its premiere the film was not widely seen until a restored print was screened at Montreal's

Fantasia Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

in 2016.

References

External links

* 1969 films 1969 drama films 1969 LGBT-related films Canadian drama films Canadian LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films Films directed by Jean-Claude Lord Films shot in Quebec Gay-related films Male bisexuality in film 1960s French-language films French-language Canadian films 1960s Canadian films {{1960s-Canada-film-stub