Nouveau Québec

Sophie (perfectly portrayed by an intelligent and thoughtful Christine Beaulieu) is the daughter of a deceased miner who worked for many years in a mine that sits in the land of a population of aboriginal people. Sophie and her boyfriend Mathieu find themselves the targets of local scorn and jibes following a tragic accident, but Mathieu's response to this spirals from quiet rage into violent outbursts of racism. His treatment of Sophie shows his selfish and callous character, and his proclamation that the aboriginal mine workers are savages is deeply ironic, as the only savage behaviour comes from him.

This is a tense, poignant film, with atmospheric music and stark cinematography.

There are plenty of qualities in this film, such as the audacity of not translating numerous exchanges into Innu-aimun, without harming understanding, or the choice to depict Schefferville as it is, without trying to embellish it in a version falsely romantic. The acting of Christine Beaulieu, very credible, and that of Jean-Luc Kanapé, very fair, is a pleasure to see on the screen. However, certain writing tendencies in the screenplay are a little irritating, such as the personality of Jean-Sébastien Courchesne's character which changes into a one-dimensional line very quickly in the film, or the French dialogues of the Innu and Naskapis which introduce us to these communities as being systematically unfriendly and disrespectful. The conclusion of the film can justify this writing a little, but it would have been appreciated if there were more nuances there. The opening, in documentary form, seemed like a good idea, but falls flat by not adding much to the story. However, the rest of the film itself makes us feel the adversity that the inhabitants of this corner of the country must face on a daily basis. All in all, it will be interesting to follow Sarah Fortin's next projects.