''Perspective'' is an episodic drama film from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
written and directed by
B. P. Paquette and starring
Stéphane Paquette, Patricia Tedford, and Pandora Topp in a love triangle. The film is divided into nine chapters, shot over nine years, that span nine years in the lives of three characters named “Alex”.
The nine chapters, titled, respectively, ''Chapter 1: Salt & Soda'' (2012), ''Chapter 2: Chris and Other Beards'' (2013), ''Chapter 3: Hush, hsuH'' (2014), ''Chapter 4: Reflecting'' (2015), ''Chapter 5: Triangulation'' (2016), ''Chapter 6: The Saddest Lines'' (2017), ''Chapter 7: Me, Myself, and I'' (2018), ''Chapter 8: Marital Accumulation'' (2019), and ''Chapter 9: The Shed of
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describe ...
'' (2020) have been completed and presented exclusively at
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, also known as Cinéfest and Cinéfest Sudbury is an annual film festival in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada,"Cinefest provides cultural landmark". ''Sudbury Star'', September 16, 1999. held over nine ...
as of 2020.
Production history
Subtitled ''Variations on a Love Triangle in 9 Chapters'', ''Perspective'' is unique in that it is a feature-length fiction film that started in 2012, and continued to evolve until its completion in 2020. Every year a new chapter of the film was presented exclusively at
Cinéfest until the project was complete. Each chapter runs approximately 15 to 30 minutes, with the completed film running 179 minutes. The time-lapse between chapters is integrated into the narrative. At the premiere of each additional chapter, the preceding chapters were replayed.
Shot and set in
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...
, the film features music and sound design (the onscreen credit states "soundscapes") by Daniel Bédard, picture editing by Ernest Riffe, and cinematography by
Ivan Gekoff.
B. P. Paquette employed ''Perspective'' as a teaching tool for his film production students in the ''Motion Picture Arts'' program at
Thorneloe University
Thorneloe University, also known as Thorneloe University at Laurentian, is an Anglican affiliated university formerly federated with, and still inset on the campus of, the larger Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
Programs
The ...
. "It was to encourage the students that they don't need millions of dollars, big movie stars and huge crews to make a feature-length film," said Paquette.
Casting
In each chapter of the film, the three actors rotate which roles they play. According to Paquette, “We’re not letting the audience identify a character with an actor... So, at all times, all of the actors are all of the characters.”
Chapters
The film features only three performers who each play, at various points, each of the three characters named "Alex". Within the narrative, each chapter occurs months to a year apart from the proceeding chapter, and the duration of each chapter is between 15–30 minutes.
Release
Each of the nine chapters that compose ''Perspective'' has premiered at
Cinefest in, respectively, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
See also
*
List of films shot over three or more years
This is a list of films shot over three or more years. The list excludes projects comprising individual films not shot over a long period, such as the '' Up'' series, ''The Children of Golzow'', or the ''Harry Potter'' series.
''The Other Side ...
*
Antoine Doinel
Antoine Doinel () is a fictional character created by François Truffaut and portrayed by actor Jean-Pierre Léaud in five films directed by Truffaut. Doinel is to a great extent an alter ego for Truffaut; they share many of the same childhood ex ...
– In five films, French filmmaker
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...
followed the fictional life of Antoine Doinel (played by
Jean-Pierre Léaud
Jean-Pierre Léaud, ComM (; born 28 May 1944) is a French actor, known for playing Antoine Doinel in François Truffaut's series of films about that character, beginning with ''The 400 Blows'' (1959). He also worked several times with Jean-Luc ...
) - beginning in 1959, with following films for 1962, 1968, 1970 and 1979.
*
''Up'' series – a series of
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
s that have followed the lives of fourteen
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
children since 1964, when they were seven years old.
* ''
That Obscure Object of Desire
''That Obscure Object of Desire'' (french: Cet obscur objet du désir; es, Ese oscuro objeto del deseo) is a 1977 comedy-drama film directed by Luis Buñuel, based on the 1898 novel '' The Woman and the Puppet'' by Pierre Louÿs. It was Buñuel' ...
'' –
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
's last film is now considered by many to be a masterpiece wherein two actresses play the same character interchangeably.
* ''
Palindromes
A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as the words ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date and time ''11/11/11 11:11,'' and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Panam ...
'' – Heavily criticized upon release, especially for director
Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz (; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle class America ...
's decision to cast eight actors as his lead character.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perspective
Film series introduced in 2012
2010s drama films
2020s drama films
Canadian drama films
English-language Canadian films
Films directed by B. P. Paquette
2010s English-language films
2020s English-language films
2010s Canadian films