''Nelligan'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by

Robert Favreau Robert Favreau (born July 9, 1948) is a Canadian film director and film editor. His film ''Les muses orphelines'' earned him Genie Award and Jutra Award The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, whic ...

and released in 1991. A biopic of Quebec poet

Émile Nelligan Émile Nelligan (December 24, 1879 – November 18, 1941) was a Canadian Symbolist poet from Montreal who wrote in French. Even though he stopped writing poetry after being institutionalized at the age of 19, Nelligan remains an iconic figure ...

, the film stars Marc Saint-Pierre as the adolescent Nelligan and Michel Comeau as the adult Nelligan after his confinement to an

insane asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

. The film also stars Luc Morissette and Lorraine Pintal as Nelligan's parents,

Gabriel Arcand Gabriel Arcand (born June 4, 1949) is a Canadian actor. He is the brother of film director Denys Arcand. After studying philosophy at McGill University, Arcand spent his formative professional years at La Criée in Marseilles, France, and late ...

as his mentor Eugène Seers,

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 ...

as his friend and colleague Arthur de Bussières, Dominique Leduc as his friend

Idola Saint-Jean Idola Saint-Jean (May 19, 1880 – April 6, 1945) was a Quebec journalist, educator and feminist. She devoted her life to the pursuit of equal rights for women in Quebec and her efforts lead to women being given the right to vote in Quebec in ...

, Christian Bégin as poet Jean Charbonneau, and Gilles Pelletier as poet

Louis-Honoré Fréchette Louis-Honoré Fréchette, (November 16, 1839 – May 31, 1908), was a Canadian poet, politician, playwright, and short story writer. For his prose, he would be the first Quebecois to receive the Prix Montyon from the Académie française, as w ...

. A key theme of the film is that Nelligan was a

poète maudit A ''poète maudit'' (, "accursed poet") is a poet living a life outside or against society. Abuse of drugs and alcohol, insanity, crime, violence, and in general any societal sin, often resulting in an early death, are typical elements of the bio ...

continually pulled in different directions by opposing forces, including the conflicting cultural identities of his

Irish-Canadian ga, Gael-Cheanadaigh , image = Irish_Canadian_population_by_province.svg , image_caption = Irish Canadians as percent of population by province/territory , population = 4,627,00013.4% of the Canadian population (2016) , po ...

father and his French-Canadian mother, the competing influences of Seers and Fréchette on his writing, and a nearly asexual ambivalence in his personal relationships with both Bussières and Saint-Jean. The film also posits that Nelligan was subject to

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...

uous advances by his mother."A revisionist adjusts the halo: Emile Nelligan; Rather than placing Quebec's beloved tragic poet on a pedestal, director Robert Favreau portrays his subject as a rather gloomy adolescent". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', October 26, 1991. The film received two Genie Award nominations at the

12th Genie Awards The 12th Genie Awards were held on November 26, 1991, and honoured Canadian films released in 1990 and 1991."Genies undergo changes". ''The Globe and Mail'', November 26, 1991. The ceremony was hosted by actor Leslie Nielsen Following the disastro ...

in 1991, for Best Cinematography (

Guy Dufaux Guy Dufaux (; born July 18, 1943, in Lille, France) is a French-born Canadian cinematographer. The majority of his works have been in Canadian cinema; he immigrated to Canada in 1965 and became a Canadian citizen in 1971. He is also the father of ...

) and Best Costume Design ( François Laplante)."Genie candidates announced". '' Edmonton Journal'', October 10, 1991.

References

External links

* 1991 films Canadian biographical drama films 1990s biographical drama films Films directed by Robert Favreau Films set in Quebec 1991 LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films Canadian LGBT-related films 1991 drama films French-language Canadian films 1990s Canadian films {{1990s-Canada-film-stub