Montreal Main (1974) User Reviews

Impossible to be more seventyish!

[cmmescalona · 6/10 · 8 October 2006]

Maybe very few people will ever have a chance to watch this film. It's a very rare and forgotten film that may be in some forgotten vault in Montreal or New York, where Vitale worked about twenty five years ago! A film that is so seventyish that almost the smell of chips in Blvd. St-Laurent are there. I'd rather call this film a play where every character is depicted with his or her darkest and brightest sides throughout the story. Seventyish it is in the use of the camera: all the niceties of the moment are used and not so subtly: really long zoom shots, in-your-face close ups, where you can see every speck on the skin of the actors. Hairdo is quite ample in its 70's possibilities. Colours and cars, even many of the stores that we remember only by photographs from the time or word of mouth.

The basic plot has already been told in another post. I wouldn't put it so simple. This film deals with a lot of things, but, basically it deals with human frailty, with our secret emotions and explores the dark side of people who may seem bright, and the bright side of darker characters.

It goes deep, too, into the relentless fixations of a tightly knit society, where truths are told and lies are kept. Where the closeness of some people is sometimes unbearable and distance is painful.

This film is as intimate as it can be, even when it wasn't shot during winter. The atmospheres are as choking as in the first party depicted where everybody smokes pot or else, as it is at Frank's house, where everything is a mess and feels like it.

The way every character is interwoven in this incredible mesh is believable as are the central stories: two hate-love relationships that seem doomed.

Who knows what happened with all these actors. It's, by now, 35 years since it was shot. Even the boy (who may have been 12-13 during the shooting of the film) is now almost fifty! If I were any of them, I'd be truly proud of my work. It's a no-budget film with a lot of support from Canadian authorities and a bunch of friends.

Anyone who can see this film, please be forgiving for its seventies' look and feel, much better, enjoy its uniqueness and simply let yourself immerse in the vast richness and voids of humanity.

The Fine Line Between Adelphopoiesis And Pederasty.

[meddlecore · 7/10 · 18 June 2021]

What starts off with a series of banalities, takes a shift, when two of the main characters- Frank (played by Frank Vitale, who also directs the film) and Bozo (Allan Moyle)- figure they should see what the whole homosexual thing is about, considering most of their friends are gay, and that they always end up on the subject while on acid.

Their manual experiment doesn't really seem do much for either of them, though.

So they decide to take it to the next level during a party.

However, while waiting for Bozo, Frank burgles the room of the homeowners, where he finds some photos of their androgynous-looking teen son...which triggers an unhealthy pederastic obsession within him.

So, when it becomes clear that Bozo isn't into the whole gay experiment, as he's interested in Jackie, a beautiful friend of theirs, who has recently returned to the area.

Frank arranges to take their friend's teen son up to the mountains, so that he can take some photos of him.

Underlying this, however, seem to be intentions to groom the boy to indulge in his own twisted sexual fantasies.

Things start off innocent enough...with the two getting along great...because despite being a grown ass man...Frank still lives in the mind of a boy.

He tries to filter his sexual fantasies through the lens of the camera.

But continues to develop a grooming relationship with the boy.

Not only do the boy's parents seem to be developing concerns about the relationship developing between Frank and the boy...but so do his gay friends.

They see this as a consequence of him being rejected by a woman he was desperately in love with.

A last ditch effort to seek love and attention from someone he can manipulate, as means to ward off his loneliness and on setting depression.

He starts to bring the boy to his haunts on the Montreal Main (St Laurent St), seemingly, to expose him to the gritty underworld that pervades the gay district of the city.

A subtle attempt to seed the idea in the boy's mind, before he gets the gall to make his move.

Up to this point, he has acted more as a mentor, playing the role of the cool uncle...which puts the boy at ease.

But as things progress, it becomes increasingly clear that he won't be able to avoid acting on his fetishistic desires for long.

And it doesn't help that his closest confidant has even more predatory qualities than he does.

When Bozo loses Jackie, as a result of his childish demeanour, he tells Frank he's into him...only for Frank to react violently, as if he is offended by the suggestion that he's a homosexual.

In fact, Frank never really seems to exhibit any homosexual tendencies at all, rather, he instead seems to be more drawn toward the innocence and genuine affection he receives from the boy, John.

But, as his friend tries to explain to him, any attempt to take the relationship in a sexual direction is not healthy, as it would be him imposing his will upon an impressionable kid.

The whole situation has put strains on both their relationships.

John with his family, and Frank with his friends.

Which instills a sense of fear in Frank, who doesn't know how to navigate and deal with his own feelings and desires.

He never does cross the line...but it doesn't make the boy any less of a victim.

As he's left angry and confused about the whole situation.

After everything plays out, we have a rather simple film, telling a straightforward story, about a very complex situation - the fine line between adelphopoiesis and pederasty.

Interestingly, much like Gordon Sheppard's film "Eliza's Horoscope" (which also takes place in Montreal) the characters in this film adopt the names of their actors in real life.

In that film, it was so they could better identify with their roles, so I imagine it was for a similar reason here.

Despite the fact that Sheppard's film wasn't released until 1975, it seems to have been shot prior to this film, so it is possible that Vitale was influenced by Sheppard to take that approach here, as well.

It was clearly an issue the filmmaking community in Montreal was dealing with at the time, as we can see from what we now know about the promiscuous activities of Claude Jutra, who was, himself, a pederast, attracted to young boys.

Fans of this film might also like Greg Araki's Mysterious Skin, which covers a similar topic, with a more artistic approach, and much darker result.

6.5 out 10.

Montreal Men in "Montreal Main"

[mackjay2 · 8/10 · 27 July 2008]

Writer-Director Frank Vitale and co-writer Allan Moyle created something unique and hard to forget in MONTREAL MAIN. The film played the "Gay Film Festival" circuits in the 1970s and occasionally showed up on US art house screens at the time, but has rarely been revived since. Seeing it again, so many years later, the gay connection can be seen as rather tenuous. Yes there are openly gay characters in the story. And the attitude towards them is not judgmental. Also, these characters exert some influence on the two main performers (Vitale and Moyle). But it's not truly a "gay film". This is really the story of men who are long past boyhood, but who refuse to leave their adolescent sensibilities behind. Photographer Frank (Vitale), in particular, seems troubled by this situation (without knowing exactly what is going on inside him). He concocts a notion that he needs to explore homosexuality, since most of his friends are gay. An absurd idea, and when a brief experiment with Bozo (Moyle) goes bust, it's pretty clear to both men that this will not be the road to take. The scene is remarkable for the way it expresses the mutual frustration and confusion of both characters, and it's a good way to get the story started. Bozo really seems interested in women, or at least he is interested in a particular woman, whom he courts in a somewhat charming fashion, and then overwhelms and drives away with his idiotic, puerile behavior. Frank, on the other hand, falls into a much more provocative situation. When he invites Johnny, the teenage son of some friends, to go on a photo hike in the local mountain, he ends up triggering a dangerous obsession. Here is where the film has been connected to "gay cinema", and yet it's not clear what Frank's interest in Johnny really means. Frank never once makes a move on the boy, nor discusses anything sexual with him. Johnny is an almost medieval kind of love object, with Frank occasionally seen observing his androgynous prettiness from a safe distance. Is the boy's androgyny, with his shoulder-length stringy hair, a key to understanding this story? Perhaps, because Frank is so obviously confused and stuck in a place between adolescence and manhood, that he does not truly know what he wants out of life, much less out of Johnny. The two participate in harmless activities, and it really seems that Frank may be just extending his own youth through this friendship. It's worth mentioning that one of Frank's openly gay friends very wisely advises him to back off from the boy and give him "lots of space". But it's not until Johnny's father has to tell Frank flat-out to stay away from his son that some realization begins to dawn. This is not a film of great revelations or audience-pleasing resolution. It's a kind of meditation on growing up, and how difficult it can be for some men to fully leave their younger days behind them. On that level, it's engrossing and occasionally moving.

A great advantage of low-budget, independent films like this can be the way they capture a time and place. MONTREAL MAIN is shot on real locations (including interiors, which look very lived-in, to say the least). The viewer can have a real sense of the particular neighborhood of Montreal where much of the film is set. Much about these areas has probably changed over more than thirty years, so it's an interesting time capsule. Another time capsule aspect is seen in the actors' appearances: men with bushy, long, greasy-looking hair; women wearing mostly unflattering clothes. The mid-1970s may not have been a time fondly remembered for fashion, but this really documents the way people looked and lived. Vitale's use of French New Wave techniques gives the film energy and a style that matches its content.

An incredible film.

[kamerad · 10/10 · 19 January 1999]

What can I say? This obscure 1974 Canadian film played twice last month at a tiny art cinema in Montreal. I went to see it, was blown away, and had to return the next night to see it again. The film was co-written, co-produced, directed by, and stars Frank Vitale, an American photographer and film maker who at the time lived in Montreal. The film's plot concerns Vitale (playing a character named "Frank Vitale") befriending a twelve year old boy. The two become good friends, but the boy's parents are suspicious of Frank's intentions. The relationship also takes a toll on Frank's friendship with his best friend Bozo (played by future director Allan Moyle). This film makes the most of it's Montreal locations. It's interesting to see this film, made 2 years before I was even born. I walk down the Montreal Main (St-Laurent street) almost every day, and it hasn't changed a bit, with one exception: in the film all the signs are in English. Now, they're all in French.

I remember "Montreal Main".

[bert_coffman · 10/10 · 24 December 2006]

The film was aired on WNET Ch.13 NYC in the 70's a few times. I saw the film repeatedly and was amazed by the creativity regarding the subject of intergenerational relationships. Way ahead of its time. It brought back memories of my years in Montreal, esp. 1969. The film captures the multicultural diversity of Canada's, Quebec's premier city. The creator has enjoyed a remarkable career with many other talented productions. Has anyone ever made a sequel to Montreal Main ???What are the principals doing today ??? Many other interesting films were shot on location in Montreal. Is there a filmography for Montreal?? It is now Christmas time 2006 as I write. I was hoping that PBS would program for airing the Claude Jutra classic "Mon Oncle Antoine". I remember the line from Claude Jutra's "Kamouraska" spoken by actor Phillipe Leotard "Je Sui Le seigneur DE Kamouraska!".

Glad I did not hit "stop" at 35 minutes

[markwood272 · 8/10 · 4 July 2016]

Saw 7/2/16 by chance on YouTube, knowing nothing about it. Wanted to see a Canadian film after a good experience watching "The Luck of Ginger Coffey" (1964). "Montreal Main" relates what happens when Frank, part of a group of Montreal bohemians, forms a too-close attachment to a 12 year-old boy from the suburbs.

The material was handled in a mercifully oblique manner, but still, I was about to bail on what to me had been nothing more than Warholesque sloppiness – and then, after minute 35, as what might be called the film's second act began, I saw and heard the best matching of music, sound, and image since Hitchcock met Bernard Hermann. In just two and a half minutes, movie music perfection from Beverly Glenn Copeland, and achieved for a tiny fraction of the budget for one of today's banal scores. Rarely has a kid running away from home been presented on screen so effectively.

The movie imagined by Frank Vitale, Allan Moyle, and Stephen Lack fell into place at that point. There have been other movies that feature memorable musical moments, but in, for example, "La Noia" (1962), "Crazy Westerners" (1967), or "Wild on the Beach" (1965), they remain moments only and fail to breathe life into their movies the way Ms. Copeland's score does.

John Sutherland as the boy gives a very believable performance. There appears to have been little scripted dialog. The confrontation between Johnny's father and Frank works well enough to make it possible to forget the scenes where the improv shows too much.

The subject matter, low budget, and art house movie diction and grammar of "Montreal Main" will probably confine its audience to the purest of cinephiles. That is too bad for a film that for all its strangeness I found more involving than much of what floats along the motion picture mainstream.

Those who found "Montreal Main" rewarding may enjoy Charles Burnett's "Killer of Sheep"(1978), or "Adieu Philippine" (1962) directed by Jacques Rozier – if they haven't seen these movies already, of course.