C.R.A.Z.Y

Zachary Beaulieu was born on Christmas Day 1960. He was different from his four brothers but desperate to fit in. During the next 20 years, Zac tries to live a lie, but his life is full of surprises and unexpected experiences, which ultimately leads him to accept his true nature. More importantly, Zac's father grows to love him for who he really is.










C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
starring Marc-André Grondin, Michel Côté, Danielle Proulx

This is one of those films I remember seeing in theatre and not being able to get up from my seat until the room was empty when it was over. I was absolutely amazed and I felt I had just been part of something important, cinematically speaking. C.R.A.Z.Y. is absolutely stunning. One of the best Canadian films ever made, and thats saying a lot cause in the last few years, our cinema industry - espeically in Quebec - has proven to become one of the best in the world, just like back when Claude Jutras started making films in the 1960's.

C.R.A.Z.Y. is a film about family, self-acceptation, father and son relationship, it also about a moment of our history. With C.R.A.Z.Y. we get to witness the evolution of customs in Quebec from the 60's till now.

With an amazing soundtrack, genuine emotions, real characters, some pretty damn good performances and a very controlled direction even with a limited budget, C.R.A.Z.Y. is a great piece of cinema. Its about a young man, fourth in a family of five dudes, who has to cope with his difference, his sexual orientation. His dad finds it hard to accept and so does he but he finds ways to explore himself and end up admitting everything to the people he loves, in a time when homosexuality wasnt very well-perceived.

Marc-André Grondin manages to plays his character from teenagehood to his adult year pretty well, changing styles and showing a real interest in the music his character loves. Michel Côté is for the first time in a very long while not on auto-pilot and he delivers greatly as the dad who is obssessed with Charles Aznavour. Danielle Proulx is very genuine as the understanding mom and Pierre-Luc Brillant is nothing short of brilliant as the junkie older brother.

There are scenes in this film that feel so real and some others are pretty much dreamlike and uplifting. There is a perfect balance between its themes, its very cinematic look and its undeniable truthfulness. Based on co-writer François Boulay's real life, C.R.A.Z.Y. is a breath of fresh air.

PS: If you Netflix member, you can watch C.R.A.Z.Y online (www.netflix.com)