Movies by Denys Arcand

Days of Darkness

Days of Darkness

Jean-Marc is a man without qualities living in times that are out of joint. His wife and children ignore him; he's a mid-level government functionary in Montreal doing his job without care. He has an active imagination of sexual conquest, but his only real feelings come when he visits his aged mother, whose health is failing. When his wife leaves abruptly to work in Toronto, Jean-Marc sets out to reorder things with his daughters, his social life, and at work. In a world that at best is a farce, does he stand a chance?

Testament

Testament

In an era of political correctness, identity evolution, protests, cultural scandals, activism, media storms, and other disputes, Jean-Michel, a 70-year-old single man, has lost all his bearings in this society. He lives in a retirement home located in a heritage building, managed with care and precision by Suzanne. Their peace is shaken by the arrival of young activists who demand the destruction of a historic fresco. Overwhelmed by an era dominated by political correctness, Jean-Michel will regain faith in humanity with the birth of an unex...

Cotton Mill, Treadmill

Cotton Mill, Treadmill

Director Denys Arcand made an inquiry on textile industry in Quebec, meeting employers and workers of that industry.

Jesus of Montreal

Jesus of Montreal

A group of actors putting on an interpretive Passion Play in Montreal begin to experience a meshing of their characters and their private lives as the production takes form against the growing opposition of the Catholic church.

Samuel de Champlain: Québec 1603

Samuel de Champlain: Québec 1603

Footage of Québec City locations and the artwork of well-known Quebec animator Frédéric Back are used to tell the tale of Champlain’s life in New France – from his first explorations and settlement to his death in 1635.

Québec: Duplessis and After ...

Québec: Duplessis and After ...

This film establishes a parallel between the 1970 electoral campaign in Québec and the 1936 campaign dominated by Maurice Duplessis. It shows the hope but also the uncertainty that existed in 1970. Had the Quiet Revolution really changed things in Québec? Was it possible that a new leader would emerge on the political scene? (NFB.ca)

Comfort and Indifference

Comfort and Indifference

Made shortly after the referendum on Quebec's independence was held, this documentary illustrates what the politicians' promises were and how the population did not really care nor truly understand what was really at stake, even though just about everyone had an opinion on the subject.

Champlain

Champlain

Explorer, colonizer, founder of Québec, discoverer of Lake Champlain, governor of New France, cartographer and writer--few men in Canadian history had a more adventurous and varied career than Champlain. This film presents an exciting picture-study of the man and his time.

Poverty and Other Delights

Poverty and Other Delights

Marcel and Joseph are tireless walkers. Their itinerary is an invitation to discover improbable places and fascinating people. Everlastingly looking for Stanley, Marcel’s only friend, they meet an unlikely crowd of extravagant characters. Each has a story to tell, his hope to share.

La route de l'Ouest

La route de l'Ouest

When was Canada populated by Native Americans from the West? This film relates the discovery of the New World from the time of the Vikings, around 880, to Jacques Cartier.

The Fall of the American Empire

The Fall of the American Empire

A shy and insecure delivery driver arrives on the scene of a robbery-gone-wrong and picks up two bags of cash and hides them in his truck. He is interrogated by two tough police detectives and manages to evade suspicion but he is warned that whoever owns the money will be looking for it. Only the help of a prostitute and a former biker recently released from jail might get him out of trouble.

Ville-Marie

Ville-Marie

Today it is the city of Montreal, but 3 centuries ago the tiny band of missionary founders called it Ville-Marie, the holy city of Mary. This film goes back to its beginning and those who felt called to plant an oasis of Christianity in the North American wilderness. In an imaginative, at times almost surrealistic, way the film recalls the highborn company from France, and shows what survives of Ville-Marie in the Montreal of today.

Volleyball

Volleyball

An encounter between Russian and American volleyball teams, presented more as an essay in the choreography of the players' movements than as a play-by-play report of a sports event. Various camera tricks are used to dramatize the action, notably stop-motion, that freezes the ballet-like leaps and postures of the players. The film has jazz background music. -NFB

An Eye for Beauty

An Eye for Beauty

An architect and his wife see their relationship challenged.