Ciné-Club de l'Alliance: Mommy

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140 minutes | French and English with English subtitles | Drama

Members

Free

Non-members

About the Film

Director: Xavier Dolan
Actors: Anne Dorval, Antoine Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clément

A working-class Quebec mother struggles to care for her troubled teenage son until a chance encounter with their shy neighbor offers unexpected hope for a brighter future in this affecting drama from director Xavier Dolan. Diane (Anne Dorval) is a single, uneducated mother whose emotionally volatile son Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon) resides in a government institution for troubled youths. Determined to care for Steve despite the challenges he poses, Diane brings him back home, where his increasingly erratic mood swings pose more of a problem than she anticipated. Just when it begins to appear as if Diane has reached her emotional breaking point, an encounter with her withdrawn neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clément), a teacher on sabbatical, offers hope for a brighter future. Unfortunately for all three, a violent transgression from Steve's past soon comes back to haunt him, casting a bleak shadow over a situation that had appeared to be improving.

The film will be followed by an informal reception and an open discussion led by our in-house film expert, Barbara Bouquegneau.

Praise

Mommy won the Prix du Jury for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the best Foreign Film at the 40th César Awards, amongst many others.

A powerful film about the ferocity of a mother's love

– Marie Corliss, Time Magazine

A heart-swelling, breathtaking piece of cinema

– Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

About the Director

Xavier Dolan (né Xavier Dolan-Tadros in March 1989 in Montreal) is an actor, director, writer, producer, editor and costume designer. As a precocious practitioner of auteurist art cinema, Xavier Dolan went from child actor to filmmaking wunderkind, garnering international acclaim at age 20 for his debut feature, J’ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother, 2009). His next four films — Les amours imaginaires (Heartbeats, 2010), Laurence Anyways (2012), Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm, 2013) and Mommy (2014) — were all completed by the time he was 25. They won numerous awards and further established him as one of international cinema’s most promising and prolific young filmmakers. His sixth feature film, Juste la fin du monde (It’s Only the End of the World, 2016), won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

Above: ©Lions Gate

Watch the trailer

New Cinema Programming

Starting this Spring, cinema is taking the leap at the French Library. We have revisited and expanded our programming to offer you new ways to experience the best of French and Francophone cinema. While continuing the monthly Ciné-Clubs to catch up on recent films from the Francophone world, we are launching Ciné-Rétro, a two-evening marathon to discover or re-discover some 1940s to 1970s French classics and Ciné-Loulous, where children and their families can enjoy French animated gems followed by arts and crafts activities inspired by the film. As always, you will be able to mingle and discuss the films with our in-house film expert, fellow cinéphiles and francophiles.

Press Inquiries

If you are interested in covering the event, please send all inquiries to press@frenchlibrary.org.

View the Press Release

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