In the Shadow of the Wind
{{short description|1987 film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = In the Shadow of the Wind
| native_name = {{infobox name module|fr|Les Fous de Bassan}}
| image = In the Shadow of the Wind.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = Yves Simoneau
| producer = Justine Héroux
| writer = Marcel Beaulieu
Sheldon Chad
Anne Hébert
Yves Simoneau
| starring = Steve Banner
Charlotte Valandrey
Laure Marsac
Marie Tifo
| music = Richard Grégoire
| based_on = Les fous de Bassan by Anne Hébert
| cinematography = Alain Dostie
| editing = Joële Van Effenterre
| distributor =
| released = {{film date|1987}}
| runtime = 105 minutes
| country = Canada
| language = French
| budget =
}}
In the Shadow of the Wind ({{langx|fr|Les Fous de Bassan}}) is a 1987 Canadian drama film, directed by Yves Simoneau."Les Fous de Bassan: Psychological insights missing; Ambitious Les Fous a mixed success". The Globe and Mail, December 22, 1986. It was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1987/02_programm_1987/02_Programm_1987.html |title=Berlinale: 1987 Programme |accessdate=February 28, 2011 |work=berlinale.de}}
Based on the novel by Anne Hébert,"Quebec's 'enfant terrible' pulls off heist movie". The Globe and Mail, April 4, 1986. the film depicts a small town in the Gaspésie region of Quebec shaken by a rape and murder in 1936. The story is depicted from the perspective of Stevens Brown, played by Steve Banner in the 1936 storyline and by Jean-Louis Millette as an old man in the present day reflecting on the events. The cast also includes Charlotte Valandrey, Laure Marsac, Marie Tifo and Lothaire Bluteau.
The film was originally slated to be directed by Francis Mankiewicz, but he left the production due to a creative dispute with the producers. The community in Hébert's novel was an Anglo-Quebecer village, but the film's primary expected audience was a francophone audience in Quebec, leading to a dispute about whether to shoot the film in English and then dub it into French or vice versa.
The film received four Genie Award nominations at the 8th Genie Awards in 1987: Best Supporting Actress (Tifo), Best Art Direction/Production Design (Michel Proulx), Best Cinematography (Alain Dostie) and Best Costume Design (Nicole Pelletier)."Decline rises to top Genie nominations". Toronto Star, February 5, 1987.
Cast
{{castlist|
- Steve Banner as Stevens Brown
- Charlotte Valandrey as Olivia Atkins
- Laure Marsac as Nora Atkins
- Angèle Coutu as Maureen
- Paul Hébert as Thimothe Brown
- Marie Tifo as Irene Jones
- Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu as Priest
- Lothaire Bluteau as Perceval Brown
- Roland Chenail as Pere Atkins
- Guy Thauvette as Patrick Atkins
- Pierre Powers as Sydney Atkins
- Henri Chassé as Bob
- Denise Gagnon as Bea Brown
- Jocelyn Bérubé as Tony Bay
- Jean-Louis Millette as Vieux Stevens
}}
Production
Anne Hébert wanted Mireille Dansereau to direct the film adaption of her novel Les fous de Bassan. Yves Simoneau was selected to direct after Francis Mankiewicz withdrew from the project. Simoneau and Marcel Beaulieu wrote a script that Hébert accepted.{{sfn|Pallister|1995|p=184}}
Reception
The film was criticized{{bywhom|date=August 2024}} for removing two characters from the book, the twin sisters Pam and Pat, and condensing the four painters into one character.{{sfn|Pallister|1995|p=186}}
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
- {{cite book|last=Pallister |first=Janis |title=The Cinema of Quebec: Masters in Their Own House |publisher=Associated University Presses |date=1995 |isbn=0838635628}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0093045|title=In the Shadow of the Wind}}
{{Yves Simoneau}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:In The Shadow Of The Wind}}
Category:Films directed by Yves Simoneau
Category:Films based on Canadian novels