VILLE-MARIE
SPECIAL PRESENTATION D: Guy Édoin. Canada. 101 min. Sep 12, 1:15 pm Winter Garden Sep 14, 3:45 pm Scotiabank 2 Sep 19, 9:45 am Isabel Bader. See listings. Rating: NN
Ville-Marie opens with a precisely orchestrated long take that follows a young boy walking to a bus stop. He finds a young mother cooing to her baby before she hands it off so she can jump in front of a truck.
The shocking suicide is a provocative kickoff to an operatic mosaic à la Crash, where strangers who struggle with parenting issues avoid each other until fate (or gimmicky writing) has them collapsing back into each others’ arms.
A fine cast that includes Monica Bellucci and Pascale Bussières make the most of their joyless characters, who are minimally defined by whatever tragedy has them moping around Montreal.
