A Life Begins (Michel Monty, 2010): Quebec, Canada

Reviewed by Laura Horstmann. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

A Life Begins is director Michel Monty’s semi-autobiographical story of how his brother learned to cope with their father’s death. Just as the title would suggest, as one story ends, another begins. When his father, Jacque, passes away from drug overdose, twelve year old Etienne does everything he can to understand who his father was and to follow in his footsteps. With the few clues his father left him, Etienne tries to privately piece together what it means to be a man. But following so closely in Jacque’s footsteps leads Etienne down a path of trouble and self-medication.

Charles Antoine Perreault, who had never acted before this film, gave a powerful performance as the young boy on the edge. He brought reality and a painful humor to Etienne’s actions. Along with a strong cast, the movie had a beautiful costume and set design that created a very believable 1960’s.

The film’s darker undertones were juxtaposed with a gorgeous, brightly-colored mise en scene that helped put the audience in Etienne’s world. To him, experimenting with his father’s drug collection was just part of the game and the suits he never took off were simply his costume. Everything in his world was bold to the point where it came off cartoonish, including his father’s pills and the red car that would lead to the movie’s climax.

The movie was fun to watch visually but the story seemed to wander towards the end. We were left with a sort of empty portrait in relation to Etienne’s future and all you could do was hope for the best for him. The art, talent, and direction really made this a treat to watch even when the story left more to be desired at it’s finish.