French actress Sophie Bernard (the incomparable Monica Bellucci, in one of her most complex and demanding roles) has agreed to make a movie in Montreal, taking on a role deliberately sculpted to mirror events in her personal life. Sophie’s real focus, however, is on attempting reconciliation with her adult son Thomas (Aliocha Schneider), who lives in Montreal and has not seen his mother in three years, their estrangement owing in part to Sophie’s refusal to reveal to Thomas the identity of his father. Thomas’ distress over his mother’s visit is compounded when he witnesses a stranger’s attempted suicide on the night of Sophie’s arrival.

Meanwhile, paramedic Pierre and ER nurse Marie (the extraordinary Pascale Bussieres), the responders to the suicide incident, are immersed in unspoken distress of their own. Pierre is a veteran suffering from undiagnosed PSTD, while Marie has a history of loss that she stifles through over-work. All four characters will become entangled in a moment that will force them to confront those past events that each have taken pains to ignore.

With only his second fiction feature, Quebec director Guy Édoin absorbs the principles of melodrama and imbues several memorable sequences with a dynamic flourish. Ville-Marie announces a strong new cinematic personality.  – Jaie Laplante

PRECEDED BY A CONVERSATION WITH MONICA BELLUCCI, BY DIRECTOR GUY ÉDOIN.