''Traitor or Patriot'' () is a

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

(NFB) in 2000. It is directed by and starring

Jacques Godbout Jacques Godbout, OC, CQ (born November 27, 1933) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler (''touche-à-tout''), Godbout has become one of the most important wr ...

. Its style belongs to the Quebec cinéma direct school of

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

making.

Synopsis

It analyzes the place of

Quebec Premier The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following that ...

Adélard Godbout Joseph-Adélard Godbout (September 24, 1892 – September 18, 1956) was a Canadian agronomist and politician. He served as the 15th premier of Quebec briefly in 1936, and again from 1939 to 1944, in addition to serving as the leader of the Part ...

in history. Godbout is not well-considered by Quebec historians and citizens. Adérald Godbout was the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

–era Quebec

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

, and the great-uncle of the

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. Godbout advances some theories to explain why his great-uncle was forgotten in the collective memory of the

ers. One theory is that Adélard Godbout was more favourable than other political leaders to

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

. Quebec nationalists, at the time, opposed conscription, which they saw as a British imperialist manoeuvre of

English Canada English Canada comprises that part of the population within Canada, whether of British origin or otherwise, that speaks English. The term ''English Canada'' is also used for any of the following: *Describing all the provinces of Canada ...

to defend the

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

Production

Like other documentaries of his ('' The Black Sheep'', for example), ''Traître ou Patriote'' showcases Jacques Godbout's own style of putting himself into the

narrative thread A narrative thread, or plot thread (or, more ambiguously, a storyline), refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry "all-knowing" sor ...

: he sets up scenes where he researches his subject and interacts with others, to help push the documentary forward. One example of this is when he is filmed asking historians at a reception if they can recognize the picture of Godbout, the politician, which they cannot. Jacques Godbout provides his own voice for the voice-overs of the English version.

References

External links

*
''Traitor or Patriot''
at the

Quebec history. Adélard Godbout - - Quebec History - Histoire du Québec. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2022, from http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/bios/godbout.htm 2000 films 2000s French-language films Canadian documentary films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Documentary films about Canadian politicians Documentary films about Quebec politics Films directed by Jacques Godbout 2000 documentary films Culture of Quebec French-language Canadian films 2000s Canadian films {{2000s-Canada-documentary-film-stub

Synopsis

Production

See also

References

External links