In a world where 14 Jours, 12 Nuits would have been the first and only pick from Canada for the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, you would have noted that the film fits the criteria seen as doing well at the Oscars. Find a film that is Canadian that looks nothing like Canada.
Incendies and Rebelle had little visibility and zero visibility of Canada, respectively. 14 Jours, 12 Nuits is a beautiful film that showcases Vietnam and barely spends any time in Canada.
Isabelle Brodeur (Anne Dorval) is in Vietnam. This isn't her first trip to the country. Years ago, she and her husband went to Vietnam to adopt a baby girl. Isabelle is returning to Vietnam after the accidental death of her teenage daughter.
Isabelle is in Hanoi. We know she is confused and disoriented because we see several shots of her in that state. Her plan is to find the girl's birth mother, Thuy Nguyen (French actor Leanna Chea).
14 Jours, 12 Nuits is not about Isabelle's husband (Francois Papineau), left back in Quebec. The film is surprisingly not about the daughter Clara (Laurence Barrette). The film is about the mothers.
Isabelle finds out the identity of Thuy and hires her travel services. The film takes its very sweet time getting to the meeting of the women. Surprisingly, I could have used less time leading up to that point and more time with them. At one point early on, Thuy asks Isabelle if she has any kids. Isabelle says no. The reverse is asked. Thuy says no.
The film uses music early on to build tension that doesn't actually exist. Director Jean-Philippe Duval otherwise leaves the characters to do what they need to do. Writer Marie Vien does a lovely job of examining what these women have in common and how their worlds are different.
Vietnam is presented as warm and inviting. Canada, when shown on a limited basis, is snowy and very cold.
14 Jours, 12 Nuits misses the Oscars cut for Best International Feature Film
Canada selects 14 Jours, 12 Nuits for the Best International Feature Film for the Oscars
The film uses a lot of back and forth storytelling so if you blink, you are at a different part of the story. The version I saw had several passages of Vietnamese that did not have subtitles.
Even though she was very young, Thuy was severely impacted by the Vietnam War. The fact that the women speak in French is significant, given the impact of France in that war and colonialism. The film also explores northern Vietnam, where typically southern Vietnam is mentioned. Thuy explains the difference between northern and southern Vietnamese.
As Ann Coulter found out on Canadian TV more than a decade ago, Canada did not send troops to the Vietnam War. That nuance doesn't matter as much in Vietnam, especially when speaking French.
Chea does a marvelous job in her role and deserved her Canadian Screen Awards nomination. Dorval, an actor who is one of Xavier Dolan's top players, communicates well but a lot non-verbally in the role. Difficult to play a character trying to find out truth while hiding in the shadow of lies.
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If Telefilm Canada had submitted 14 Jours, 12 Nuits | 14 Days, 12 Nights as the first choice instead of Funny Boy, the Oscars race wouldn't have been any different. The strategy was to promote Funny Boy for other categories, though that film received 0 Oscar nominations.
Funny Boy started out strong but suffered problems about halfway through. 14 Jours, 12 Nuits starts really slowly and finishes strong. Antigone started strong and finished weak. The Canadian entries are up against films that are strong all the way through. Another Round (Denmark), the Oscars winner in 2021, was strong all the way through the film.
Chea was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards for the 2019 film, but did not win.
The film was the Canadian entry for the Best International Feature Film but did not make the shortlist.
14 Jours, 12 Nuits is available for rent via streaming.
video credit: YouTube/Cogeco
photo credit: 14 Jours, 12 Nuits film
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