''Two Solitudes'' is a 1978 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 ...

written and directed by

Lionel Chetwynd Lionel Chetwynd (born January 29, 1940) is a British-American screenwriter, director and producer. Life and career Lionel Chetwynd was born to a Jewish family in Hackney, London, the son of Betty (née Dion) and Peter Chetwynd. His family mov ...

. An adaptation of the 1945 novel by

Hugh MacLennan John Hugh MacLennan (March 20, 1907 – November 9, 1990) was a Canadian writer and professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award. Family and childhood MacLennan was born in Glace B ...

, the film depicts French-English relations in Quebec during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 1919 through the story of Jean-Claude Tallard (

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Early life Aumont was born Jea ...

), a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

who tries to pursue economic development opportunities for his impoverished rural area in conjunction with the wealthy Montreal industrialist Huntley McQueen (

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fiction ...

) against the backdrop of the deep lingering mistrust between

English Canadians English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is use ...

and French Canadians in the aftermath of the Conscription Crisis of 1917.Doug Isaac, "The Film as Political Actor: Two Solitudes". ''

Cinema Canada ''Cinema Canada'' (1972–1989) is a defunct Canadian film magazine, which served as the trade journal of record for the Canadian film and television sector. The magazine had its origins in the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), which b ...

'', Issue 52 (Jan/Feb 1979). The film was marketed around the theme that it would provide Canadians with insight into the victory of the

Parti québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

in the

1976 Quebec general election Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Ph ...

and thus preserve national unity in the forthcoming

1980 Quebec referendum The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, whi ...

. However, the film was criticized for casting French and American, rather than Canadian, actors in its two lead roles. Aumont, in particular, was criticized for not even attempting a Québécois accent and thus sounding out of place in the film. Music for the film was composed by

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...

, his first and only work for a Canadian film.Stephen Godfrey, "Dr. Zhivago's composer takes on Two Solitudes". ''

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 ...

'', March 27, 1978.

Cast

as Jean-Claude Tallard *

as Huntley McQueen * Gloria Carlin as Kathleen Tallard *

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was an English-born Canadian actor. Career He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952. Wiggins is probably ...

as Captain Yardley *

Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.

as Father Beaubien *

Raymond Cloutier Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

as Marius Tallard *

Jean-Louis Roux Jean-Louis Roux, (May 18, 1923 – November 28, 2013) was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec, he originally studied medicine at the Unive ...

as Cardinal *

Louis Negin Louis Negin (20 October 1929 – 2 December 2022) was a British-born Canadian actor, best known for his roles in the films of Guy Maddin."Enchantment". ''In Toronto'', September 2011. Career Born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, Ontari ...

Murray Westgate Murray Westgate (April 16, 1918 – August 27, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He is best known for his longtime role as a television pitchman in Canadian commercials for Esso on ''Hockey Night in Canada'' in the 1950s and 1960s, and also for his roles ...

as the Prime Minister of Canada

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0078429, title=Two Solitudes 1978 films 1978 drama films 1970s Canadian films 1970s English-language films 1970s political drama films Canadian political drama films English-language Canadian films Films based on Canadian novels Films scored by Maurice Jarre Films set in Quebec