The Cinema of Québec

Quebecois cinema, too long neglected and too long unknown by American viewers, and often not appreciated on its own terrain, receives its well-deserved defense in Janis L. Pallister's The Cinema of Quebec: Masters in Their Own House. According to Pallister, the neglect of quebecois cinema comes through ignorance, sometimes to be attributed to the whims of distributors. She intends that this study will redeem quebecois cinema and restore its status as an overlooked cinematic jewel, to be valued for its own beauty. Major films, including Mon oncle Antoine, Les bons debarras, Le Declin de l'empire americain, Jesus de Montreal, Pouvoir intime, Un Zoo la nuit, Les fous de Bassan, J.A. Martin, photographe, as well as many other lesser-known works, are dealt with exhaustively. In addition, the gynefilms of Lea Pool and such women directors' films as Mourir a tue-tete and Sonatine, are amply discussed. Additionally, films about quebecois history and politics, films taken from the literature of Quebec, films about the quebecois society, documentary films, animated films - all aspects and genres of the cinematic arts as practiced in Quebec have a place in the author's work. Pallister treats the film production of Quebec from a historico-aesthetic perspective, but also pays attention to the historical, social, and political context in which this cinematic corpus was made. Although the book is largely concerned with films by French-speaking filmmakers, there is also a brief chapter on films in other languages, especially English.