Les Raquetteurs
Les Raquetteurs is a 1958 Direct Cinema documentary film co-directed by Michel Brault and Gilles Groulx. The film explores life in rural Quebec, at a convention of snowshoers in Sherbrooke, Quebec in February of 1958. The film is notable for helping to establish the then-nascent French language production unit at the National Film Board of Canada, and more importantly, the development of a uniquely Quebec style of direct cinema.[1]
The film incorporates agile camera work and a largely synchronous soundtrack, uninterrupted by any narration, in keeping with the ethos of direct cinema to avoid any imposed "truth" on events onscreen.[2]
Production
Grant McLean, then head of production for the NFB, had been angry that what was to have been a three-minute vignette had quadrupled in length and ordered the film to be used for stock footage. However, NFB producers Tom Daly and Guy Glover interceded on the young filmmakers' behalf.[3]
Release
At the time of its release, Les Raquetteurs raised some concerns about its "nonofficial" style, and ruffled some feathers in Quebec for its portrayal of rural Quebecers.[4]
References
- ^ "Les Raquetteurs". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Film Reference Library. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ^ Marshall, Bill (2000-10-10). Quebec National Cinema. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 22. ISBN 077352116X.
- ^ Evans, Gary (Sep 30 1991). In the National Interest: A Chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989. University of Toronto Press. p. 73. ISBN 0802068332.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ellis, Jack C. (2005). A new history of documentary film. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 211. ISBN 0-8264-1751-5.
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External links
- Watch Les Raquetteurs at NFB.ca (in French)
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