''Requiem for a Handsome Bastard'' (french: Requiem pour un beau sans-cœur) is a 1992

Canadian film Cinema in Canada dates back to the earliest known display of film in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, in 1896. The film industry in Canada has been dominated by the United States, which has utilized Canada as a shooting location and to bypass British fil ...

written and directed by

Robert Morin Robert Morin (born May 20, 1949) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. In 2009, he received Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. Biography Robert Morin is known for his very personal, dark, and pessimi ...

. The film depicts the downfall of a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

criminal following his escape from prison. It was nominated for four

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scul ...

and won Best Canadian Feature 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 perman ...

. The film is based on the story of

Richard Blass Richard Blass (October 24, 1945 – January 24, 1975) was an infamous Canadian gangster and a multiple murderer. Born in Montreal, he was nicknamed ''Le Chat'', French for ''The Cat'', because of his luck in evading death after surviving at least ...

Plot

The film was shot in 35 mm and uses flashback and flashforward narratives. French Canadian criminal Reggie Savoie (the character is based on

) is in prison, his son is visiting (five years have passed since their last meeting). During a riot Savoie manages to escape. A manhunt ensues while he enjoys life outside of prison, tortures people, and seeks revenge on someone who testified against him. Three days after his escape Savoie is killed. The story is told through different points of view through the film, eight in total including Savoie's son, an assistant to a policeman following Savoie, and a journalist.

Accolades

At the 1992 Genie Awards, the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Morin was nominated for Best Achievement in Direction, Roy was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading role, and Jean-Guy Bouchard was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. At the 1992 Toronto International Film Festival ''Requiem'' won Best Canadian Feature. In the book ''Quebec National Cinema'', ''Requiem'' is credited as having "helped to reinvigorate Quebec cinema".

References

External links

* {{TIFF Best Canadian Film 1992 films Canadian drama films Films about criminals Films directed by Robert Morin Films shot in Quebec French-language Canadian films 1990s Canadian films