Gary Fisher, inventor of the mountain bike, famously said: "Anyone who rides a bike is a friend of mine." No less famously, St. Paul wrote: "You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." It is in the vast spaces, imaginary and real, between these quotes that Coralie's story unfolds. She rides (or mostly pushes) her bike, and she is trying very hard to be more than a slave of men. Strange. Intense. Cruel. Archaic. These are some of the adjectives that come to mind as I'm trying to capture the mood of this movie. Its title is taken from a French song, but the plot reminds me of a Danish movie, "Breaking the Waves", perhaps Lars Von Trier's darkest work. Ève Duranceau, in the part of Coralie, is fantastic. Looking and moving like a queen, she leads us to believe Coralie may be the one just soul in a pit of sinners. A hard-headed woman, she seems initially untouched by the dire reality of rural Québec, but ends up enslaved by the sinners that surround her, one piece at a time. They wreck both her bike and her body in the process. You can be sure Gary Fisher wouldn't approve, nor would St. Paul. - Shooting entirely in black and white, writer-director Denis Côté has created a very dark, yet compelling picture that will appeal to lonesome riders everywhere. - Seen at a festival screening in September 2008.
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