A deep sea diver has an accident while diving in the Indian Ocean. Alex (David La Haye) regains consciousness in the hospital and starts flirting with the female doctor.
Un crabe dans la tête profiles his behaviour, which is clearly changed from the accident where he is really interested in women. Alex starts a relationship with a journalist named Marie (Isabelle Blais). He is also interested in Sara (Chantal Giroux), a woman who is deaf. Sara is Marie's co-worker and the girlfriend of Sam (Emmanuel Bilodeau), Alex's best friend.
Alex is fascinated with the silence around Sara, which feels tied back to the accident. He also seems to break into places throughout the film.
Un crabe dans la tête | Soft Shell Man shows a deterioration within Alex as reflected by images of crabs and the jerking of the camera.
There are subplots such as Alex helping his agoraphobic friend Audrey (Pascale Desrochers) by working with a drug dealer and a gallery owner who wants to run some of Alex's photos.
Un crabe dans la tête is a film you can see through different lenses. The film could be seen as a romantic comedy with Alex's many attempts at love. Personality changes based off a traumatic incident. The ending gives us a different take.
The film is all about Alex yet writer/director André Turpin creates strong female characters in Marie and Sara. The portrayal of Sara is particularly poignant because she treats her deafness as a small bump in getting through life.
Turpin is mostly known as a cinematographer for Cosmos, Un 32 août sur terre, Maelström, Un crabe dans la tête, Childstar, Familia, Congorama, Incendies, Tom à la ferme, Mommy, Juste la fin du monde, Ma vie avec John F. Donovan, and Matthias & Maxime. Turpin is also married to Canadian filmmaker Louise Archambault, who worked on this film.
Turpin also directed Endorphine, which we reviewed. The 2015 film was Turpin's first full-length feature since this film. He also directed the Jules & Fanny segment in Cosmos (1996). Canada also submitted Cosmos for the Academy Awards.
Canadian film review: Endorphine
Un crabe dans la tête is a creative adventure of a film with complex ideas in a simply told story. This might be limited to those who love quirky, independent films but does well in this genre.
The film has minor inconsistencies but has the energy and script to have you follow to see what happens.
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Un crabe dans la tête | Soft Shell Man was Canada's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2002 Oscars. The film received 4 Genie Award nominations: Best Motion Picture, Best Screenplay (Turpin), Best Actor (La Haye), and Best Cinematography (Turpin).
The film may be available here.
photos credit: Un crabe dans la tête | Soft Shell Man
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