''Sonatine'' is a 1984 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by

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 ...

. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 57th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. The film centres on two young girls, Chantal (

Pascale Bussières Pascale Bussières (born June 27, 1968) is a French Canadian actress. Life and work Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Pascale Bussières first attracted attention as a suicidal teenager in Micheline Lanctôt’s 1984 film '' Sonatine''; however ...

) and Louisette (Marcia Pilote), who become disillusioned with the world of adults and plan a suicide pact.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian.Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 202. Lanctôt structured the film as a

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

, with one segment devoted to each of the two girls as an individual, going through the experiences that cause them to lose faith in humanity, before they plan the suicide pact in the third segment. Lanctôt admitted that she had written the screenplay at a time when she was very depressed.

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

, "Prize-winning director hasn't given up acting". ''

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 ...

'', September 12, 1984. The film premiered in February 1984 before opening commercially in March.

Cast

* Marcia Pilote as Louisette *

Yves Jacques Yves Jacques OC (born 10 May 1956) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor.Yves Jacques ...

as The Subway Station Janitor * Pierre Giard * Pierre Fauteux as Fernand *

Kliment Dentchev Kliment () is a male given name, a Slavic form of the Late Latin name Clement. A diminutive form is Klim.Kliment etymology

as Bulgarian seaman *

as Chantal

Awards

The film received five

Genie Award 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 scu ...

nominations at the

6th Genie Awards The 6th Genie Awards were held on March 21, 1985, to honour achievements in Canadian cinema in 1984. It was the first time the Genies were broadcast live across Canada by CBC Television, and they drew 1.9 million viewers. The event, held at the Met ...

in 1985, for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

(Lanctôt),

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

(Bussières), Best Screenplay (Lanctôt), Best Costume Design (Hélène Schneider), Best Original Score (François Lanctôt). Micheline Lanctôt won the award for Best Director. The film won the now-defunct

Silver Lion The Silver Lion ( it, Leone d'argento, also known as Silver Lion for Best Direction) is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film at official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998. The pri ...

for Best First Film (1983-1987) at the

41st Venice International Film Festival The 41st annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 1984 under the direction of Gian Luigi Rondi. No Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was assigned. The main event of this edition was, out of competition, the pre ...

."Lanctot wins award for Sonatine". ''

'', September 10, 1984.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonatine 1984 films 1984 drama films Canadian drama films Films directed by Micheline Lanctôt French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films 1980s French-language films

Cast

Awards

See also

References

External links