Antigone wears a lot of pressure. The Sophie Deraspe film won the Best Canadian Feature Film award at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and is Canada's nomination for Best International Feature Film to the 92nd Academy Awards.
The film is based on the Sophocles' classical Greek tragedy so we think we have some idea where the film is going. The family has immigrated from an unknown Middle Eastern country but smartly doesn't say which one. Their parents die shortly before immigrating to Canada and settling in Montréal. The grandma takes care of the 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Antigone, the youngest, was 3 when they arrived in Canada.
Antigone (Nahema Ricci) as a teenager is the ideal immigrant experience. She is very bright and isn't in trouble. Antigone even meets a white boy.
Then one night the police are chasing Polynice for a parole violation. They come across Étéocle, the older brother, who is holding a smartphone. The police arrest Polynice and shot and kill Étéocle.
The family is devastated. The death of Étéocle and arrest of Polynice is seen from the outside as gang members getting what they deserve. The family views this as both brothers disappearing from the family. Antigone does what she can to save her living brother, making the sacrifice of herself.
Though the story fits the tragedy, the separation of genders points out the temptation of gangs that target males much more than females.
Nahema Ricci is one of the 2019 TIFF Rising Stars. Often, the Rising Stars have a bit of work before they get the honour. Ricci worked on Ailleurs | Squat in 2018. Deraspe reportedly said she wanted novice actors. Ricci shines brightly and Deraspe gets a really fine performance.
Deraspe does really well in incorporating social media and protests to showcase empathy for Antigone.
Most of the film is well done but Deraspe loses control over the film toward the end. The fate of Antigone goes back and forth in ways that are confusing and exasperating for the audience. If you tried to do a flow chart of where the film goes, you will go off the standard paper size rather quickly. The love scene between Antigone and the young white boy provoked confusion and laughter in a scene that didn't have those emotions in mind.
Antigone shows the ties of family and the issues immigrants can have, especially when dealing with the justice system. Deraspe delivers a mostly good film that deserved a bit more editing care at the end. In the light of Bill 21, Antigone is worthy of a conversation in Quebec and hopefully beyond.
Sophie Deraspe's last film with the documentary The Amina Profile in 2015. I saw that film but felt less than satisfied by that film.
Antigone is Canada's entry to the Oscars for Best International Feature Film
2019 TIFF Rising Stars
2019 TIFF Canadian film wrapup
2019 TIFF preview
2019 TIFF Canadian film preview
Even with a consistent film all the way through and the timely message on immigrants, Antigone likely won't get much notice or attention. The female written and directed film is leaps and bounds ahead of last year's Oscar entry (also female written and directed) and is more enticing than the previous year's entry. Monsieur Lazhar, a film also about the immigrant experience, was a much better film.
The competition is quite tough with Parasite perhaps crossing over to the regular Academy Awards categories.
Canada hasn't made the top 5 since Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle in 2013 and the top 9 since Juste la fin du monde from Xavier Dolan in 2016. Les Invasions barbares from Denys Arcand is still the only Canadian film to win the Oscar in the category. This film should be more prevalent in the conversation but we will wait and see.
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CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
My own personal streak extends to the last 16 Canadian entries for the Best International Feature Film to 2003 and The Barbarian Invasions. There are only 3 films missing since Cosmos (1997): August 32nd on Earth (1998); Emporte-Moi | Set Me Free (1999); and Un crabe dans la tête (2002).
These are the nominated films from Canada I've seen before 1997: Mon oncle Antoine (1971); Les Ordres (1975); J.A. Martin photographe (1977); Le Déclin de l'empire américain (1986); Jésus de Montréal (1989); Léolo (1992); and Le Sexe des étoiles | The Sex of the Stars (1993).
The list of submissions to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film will be cut to 10 films on December 16.
video credit: YouTube/TIFF Trailers
photo credit: Antigone film
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