''Lost Song'' is a 2008

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

director

Rodrigue Jean Rodrigue Jean (born in Caraquet, New Brunswick) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and producer of Acadian origin. He has been a theatre director, dancer and choreographer. Life and Work While pursuing university studies, he developed i ...

. The film focuses on a couple's struggle with

postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and chan ...

. It won the Best Canadian Film Award at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

Plot

After the birth of their firstborn baby, Pierre and Élisabeth drive to the country to stay with his mother. The still-unnamed baby is restless, refuses to breastfeed and is having trouble sleeping. When Pierre must return to work, Élisabeth is left alone with the baby. Perplexed as to what to do, she leaves the baby in the care of her overly attentive mother-in-law Louise. Spending time with teenaged neighbor Naomi, Élisabeth finds comfort in the girl's friendship. As the pressure mounts to baptize the baby, Élisabeth considers taking a desperate action.

Cast

Reception

On review aggregate website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Lost Song'' has an approval rating of 67% based on 6 critics' reviews. Brian D. Johnson of ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'' wrote, "This story of a woman’s quiet descent into postpartum depression at a summer cottage in Quebec is...'a perfect marriage of character and landscape.' And as a mediation on dappled lake light and addled psychology, it’s beautifully composed, both austere and lyrical. However, I found it slow, morally schematic and dramatically slack." The film was selected as one of Canada's Top Ten Films for 2008. Damon D’Oliveira, a member of the Toronto International Film Festival Group which compiled the list, said, "The beauty of Rodrigue Jean's ''Lost Song'' is in its simplicity. He has crafted a spare and uncompromising film – rife with humanity – about first-time parents grappling with the mounting pressures of caring for a newborn. Gracefully understated performances creep up and deliver a gut punch at the film's unsettling climax."

Awards

At the

, ''Lost Song'' won the award for Best Canadian Feature Film.

References

External links

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Lost Song
' at Canadian Film Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Lost Song 2008 films 2008 drama films Canadian drama films Films directed by Rodrigue Jean Films set in Quebec Films about parenting Postpartum depression in film French-language Canadian films 2000s Canadian films