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Maelström
Maelstrom Movie Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Written by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Marie-Josee Croze
Narrated by Pierre Lebeau
Music by Pierre Desrochers
Cinematography André Turpin
Distributed by Alliance Atlantis
Release date
29 August 2000 (premiere at Montreal Film Festival)
15 September 2000 (Canada)
25 January 2002 (USA, limited)
Running time
87 minutes
Country Canada
Language French

Maelström is a 2000 Canadian film by Quebeckers writer-director Denis Villeneuve. It stars Marie-Josée Croze as a depressed, alcoholic woman who becomes romantically involved with the son of a man she believes she has killed in a hit and run accident. The film won 23 awards, including 5 Genie Awards and the FIPRESCI Prize, and was nominated for numerous additional accolades.[1]

Contents

SynopsisEdit

The story is told by a fish (with the voice of Pierre Lebeau). In Quebec during the autumn of 1999, twenty-five-year-old Bibiane Champagne (Marie-Josée Croze), head of three clothing boutiques, is being crushed by the expectations put on her for being the daughter of a celebrity, Flo Fabert. She resorts to drugs and alcohol in an effort to cope, while trying in vain to keep her problems from her brother Philippe (Bobby Beshro) and a persistent magazine reporter (Marie-France Lambert). The early scenes of the film show her friends supporting her through her first abortion and her inability to function in her job.

One night, Bibiane fatally wounds a 53-year-old fishmonger, Annstein Karson, in a hit and run accident. Wracked by guilt, and wanting to erase the evidence, she drives her car into the river. She survives, and interprets her survival as a sign that she deserves to recover her life. The fishmonger's son Evian, a diver who was recently inspecting Manicouagan River, encounters Bibiane by surprise and she quickly poses as his late father's neighbour. Evian falls in love with her, and Bibiane confesses eventually that she is his father's killer.

She later helps him sort through Annstein's possessions, and in the final scene, Bibiane accompanies Evian to Lofoten to dispose of the ashes.

AccoladesEdit

Maelström received ten nominations at the 21st Genie Awards and won five, including Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Achievement in Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Motion Picture.[2] Aside from the Genie Awards, the film won 18 awards worldwide and was nominated for numerous accolades.[1]

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b Croze, Marie-Josée; Verreault, Jean-Nicolas; Morgenstern, Stephanie; Lebeau, Pierre (2000-09-15), Maelstrom, retrieved 2017-03-06 
  2. ^ "Maelström". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. April 2, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013. 

External linksEdit