''Cordélia'' is a 1980

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

film directed and written by

Jean Beaudin Jean Beaudin (6 February 1939 – 18 May 2019) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He directed 20 films since 1969. His film ''J.A. Martin Photographer'', was entered into the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, where Monique Mercure won the ...

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 Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 48. It is an adaptation of the novel ''La lampe dans la fenêtre'' by Pauline Cadieux, itself based on the real-life 1890s murder trial of Cordélia Viau and Samuel Parslow.

Plot

Set in a village in the 1890s, the film centres on Cordélia Viau ( Louise Portal), a woman who invites men into her home while her husband is away. This action offends the conservative villagers. One of the men who was invited in is found dead and the woman is suspected and judged for her

immoral Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied to gr ...

act rather than the crime of murder she may have committed.

Cast

Critical response

Mark Leslie of ''

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 be ...

'' favourably reviewed the film, writing that "Like Beaudin's last feature, '' J.A. Martin photographe'', ''Cordelia'' is also a sumptuous period piece of pastel colours, soft, expressive lighting and glimpses of a visually beautiful past. But occasionally the prettiness of these images creates a discord in the film, not unlike that resulting from the unexplained plot details already discussed. The beautiful light in the jail makes Cordelia's imprisonment appear unnecessarily romantic."Mark Leslie
"Jean Beaudin's Cordélia"
''

'', April 1980. pp. 37-38. The film was one of two, alongside

Jean-Claude Labrecque Jean-Claude Labrecque, (June 19, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was a Film director, director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada. Career Jean-Claude Labrecque was born in Quebec City, Quebec, a ...

's '' The Coffin Affair (L'Affaire Coffin)'', which was criticized by justice

Jules Deschênes Jules Deschênes, (June 7, 1923 – May 10, 2000) was a Canadian Quebec Superior Court judge. Born in Montreal, to Wilfrid Deschênes and Berthe Bérard, he completed grade school under the supervision of les Clercs de Saint-Viateur and clas ...

of the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...

for having purportedly erred in points of law."Films 'err seriously' judge says". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', October 6, 1980. According to Deschênes, there was no evidence that the real Cordélia Viau had not committed the murder, and thus the film's thesis that she was wrongfully convicted was

slander Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...

ous to the judicial system.

Awards

The film received seven

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), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominations at the

1st Genie Awards The 1st Genie Awards were presented on March 20, 1980, and honoured films released in 1979. Jay Scott, "Changeling wins Genie as year's best movie". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 21, 1980. Immediately after the 1978 Canadian Film Awards, which ...

in 1980.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordelia 1980 films Films based on Canadian novels National Film Board of Canada films Films directed by Jean Beaudin Films set in Quebec Films set in the 1890s Films scored by Maurice Blackburn Canadian crime drama films French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films Canadian historical drama films