Emile (2003)

Director:

Carl Bessai

Writer:

Carl Bessai (written by)

Release Date:

9 January 2004 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In a story weaving the past and present together, Emile seeks redemption from the family he abandoned.

Plot Keywords:

Acceptance Speech | Atonement | British Columbia | Brother Brother Relationship | Canada

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Ian McKellen	...	Emile
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Nadia
Tygh Runyan	...	Freddy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Borg	...	Taxi Driver
Theo Crane	...	Maria / Nadia (age 10)
Chris William Martin	...	Carl
Nancy Sivak	...	Superintendent
Ian Tracey	...	Tom
Janet Wright	...	Alice

Also Known As:

Émile (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:92 min

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:10 | UK:15 | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A | USA:R | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

BV International Pictures

Trivia:

The house that belonged to Nadia was "haunted" and weird things kept happening during the shoot.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The film was shot in British Columbia but some parts of the action are set in Saskatchewan. In one Saskatchewan scene, there are mountains on the horizon. There are no mountains in (or visible from) Saskatchewan.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weird Sex & Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV)

Beautiful......

Unlike many movies discussing family, Emile focuses on the relationship among brothers, among uncle and nieces. Sometimes, it is a lot of so-called obligations between father/mother and son/daughter. The bond is too strong to escape from it. It is more romantic, as holiday hobby is more romantic than weekday job. There are a lot of space for one's free will, a man doesn't have to scarify just because he is someone else's whoever.

It is why I can only partially agree with the footnote of the movie `it is a movie about human being rather than human doing.' He has choice, what he has done of course decides what he is. I just grasp something from existentialism.

Compare to the director's previous work, Lola, the movie with a younger woman as leading character, I can identify myself with the characters in Emile more. People in Emile suffer more struggles inside their hearts. Lola does experiences many exciting and fantastic, and she does suffer something. However, I can't find any identity in her `innocent' expression.

It is an interesting thing when the movie reminds me of another Ian McKellen's great acting, Gods and Monsters. Maybe it is because of the way of describing, putting now and then, reality and imagination together in the same picture. (It made me think that `Ian McKellen's acting is similar to his previous one' at first. Actually, Emile and James Whale are built much different.) Director Carl Bessai spent much effort to build up such the atmosphere of what happens in an old man's mind, much more than Bill Condon did, in my `humble' opinion, a little too much. Carl Bessai chose still rather than action. It seems to express the idea `human being rather than human doing'. It is also a trade off a director must take.

In a picture, a motion picture, the present and the past are seamlessly married, but not in a logic. The screenplay doesn't give a good and strong reason to release the ice wall between Emile and his niece, Nadia. A strong ending doesn't mean exciting action or whatever else. Of course, you can choose a tranquil way, but the most tranquility has huge surges beneath.

Ian McKellen's acting is so convincing, Emile seems a part of himself. (Maybe he would protest that there is no a single character can present himself.) It is rare that a veteran actor can bring a sense of innocent. And Deborah Unger surprises me much. Her coldness toward Ian is the most incredible, because it is also rare that a young actress can build up such tense to someone much older than herself, rather than go in the same direction. Tygh Runyan did not act much in the movie, but he has a sensitive looking.