Journey’s End La Belle Visite Jean-François Caissy, Canada, 2009, 80 minutes
Wednesday, May 12 | 6:30pm | Vancity Theatre
Saying the rosary, getting their hair done, going to the doctor, doing the crossword, playing bingo, listening to the radio, playing the piano, talking to the children on the phone — these are some of the daily routines of the characters in this beautiful photographed documentary. Set against the backdrop of a rolling sea, Jean-François Caissy spent five seasons filming a group of women and men as they live out their years in a rural motel converted into a home for the elderly. Caissy conducted no interviews and added no narration or soundtrack. The former travellers’ retreat is now a transit place on a very particular type of journey, where time seems to have stopped. Despite the pace, life goes on, an inner life stripped of noise and bustle, for better or for worse, deep and silent.
“And Caissy saves the very best till last, as Canniccioni's camera follows dutifully behind one old gent as he wordlessly conducts what we presume is his nightly solo walk around the building. It's an audaciously extended single shot that recalls Belgium's Dardenne brothers or the Argentinian slow-cinema style epitomized by Lisandro Alonso...”
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Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter
Director’s biography
The work of Montreal based Jean-François Caissy has been featured in various galleries and museums around the world. In 2003, he founded the Maria Films production company, producing and directing his first documentary feature, La saison des amours (Mating Season) in 2005. The film was shown at the Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois (Montreal) and at the Namur International Film Festival. Caissy developed, produced and directed his latest documentary feature, La Belle Visite (Journey’s End), while an artist-in-residence at Les Films de l’Autre. He is currently at work on a third documentary and an original screenplay.
Preceded by: Ne Le Dis Pas Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush, Canada, 2009, 6 minutes
This short film is a simple and deeply moving monologue. Bellefleur-Kaltush exposes a life-changing event that occurred when she was a teenager in foster care and explores the harm a rumour can do. This film was completed through the Wapikoni Mobile project, a studio working with First Nations youth.
Presented by the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM) and curated by Charlotte Selb
The RIDM was founded in 1998 by filmmakers who wanted to create a platform for new perspectives and innovative practices in documentary film. Now in its 13th year, the RIDM is an festival with an international scope. Each installment brings over 100 films from all corners of the world to Montreal. The program, organized around social, political and environmental themes, features distinctive films chosen for their unique perspectives and artistic strengths.
After studying English in France, Charlotte Selb moved to Montreal and completed a Master’s in Film Studies at Concordia University. She was the Programmer at RIDM from 2004 to 2009 and is currently Acting Executive Director. She has collaborated with Vues d’Afrique, the Festival of New Cinema, the International Festival of Films on Art and the Genie and Gémeaux Awards. She loves documentaries that surprise, fascinate and inspire her, especially those that take her into uncharted waters.
