''Family Game'' (french: Arsenault et fils) is a Canadian crime drama film, directed by

Rafaël Ouellet Rafaël Ouellet is a Canadian screenwriter and film director from Dégelis, Quebec. He is most noted for his 2012 film '' Camion'', for which he received Jutra Award nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing at the 15th Jut ...

and released in 2022.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Arsenault et fils – Film de Rafaël Ouellet"
''Films du Québec'', June 13, 2022. Set in the

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (Lower Saint-Lawrence), is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlanti ...

region of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, the film centres on the Arsenaults, a family who have been involved in illegal

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

and reselling of wild meat out of the back of the family-owned

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

. Older son Adam ( Guillaume Cyr) wants to get out of the criminal enterprise and run the business honestly, but finds his plans complicated by the return of his more criminally inclined younger brother Anthony (Pierre-Paul Alain) and the arrival in town of Émilie (

Karine Vanasse Karine Vanasse (born 24 November 1983) is a French-Canadian actress, who had roles in the films '' Polytechnique'', '' Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché)'', ''Switch'' and '' Set Me Free (Emporte-moi)''. International ...

), a radio host. The film's cast also includes

Luc Picard Luc Picard (born 24 September 1961) is a French Canadian actor, director and comedian. He was born on September 24, 1961, in Lachine, Quebec, Canada. He has played numerous characters in diverse roles. Early life and education Picard was born ...

as Adam and Anthony's father André,

Julien Poulin Julien Poulin (born April 20, 1946) is Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He has portrayed numerous roles in several popular Quebec films and series. Elvis Gratton films His most memorable role was Elvis Gratton in ...

as their grandfather Armand, and

Micheline Lanctôt Micheline Lanctôt (born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician. Biography Lanctôt was born in Frelighsburg, Quebec. Her post-secondary education was in music, fine arts, and theatre at École de musique ...

as Irène. Ouellet has described the film as an attempt to incorporate influences from ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

'', ''

GoodFellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' Wis ...

'' and the films of

James Gray James, Jim, or Jimmy Gray may refer to: Politicians * James Gray (Australian politician) (1820–1889), member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly * James Gray (British politician) (born 1954), British politician * James Gray (mayor) (1862–1916 ...

into his own filmmaking style, which has traditionally been character drama driven by dialogue rather than plot. The film was shot in and around Ouellet's own hometown of

Dégelis Dégelis is a city in Témiscouata Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. Its population in the Canada 2011 Census was 3,051. The Madawaska River flows from Lake Témiscouata, through Degelis, to join the ...

in 2021, and had its commercial theatrical premiere in June 2022. The film was shortlisted for the

Prix collégial du cinéma québécois The Prix collégial du cinéma québécois is an annual Canadian film award, presented to a film from Quebec judged as the best of the year by a jury of students in film studies programs at the province's CEGEPs.Léa Carrier"Je m’appelle humain re ...

in 2023.Jean-Louis Bordeleau
"Le Prix collégial du cinéma québécois s’élargit et dévoile ses finalistes"
''

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 ...

'', January 19, 2023.

References

External links

* *
Arsenault & Sons
' (version in French with English subtitles) at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

2022 films 2022 crime drama films Canadian crime drama films Films directed by Rafaël Ouellet French-language Canadian films 2020s Canadian films {{2020s-Canada-film-stub