Tadoussac.
Director: Martin Laroche
Producer: Martin Laroche
Actors: Camille Mongeau, Isabelle Blais
Tadoussac is a relatively isolated coastal village, north of Quebec City, in Canada. First settled by Europeans as early as 1535 and already established as a trading post by 1600 it remains a good place to lose yourself if you wish to.
The film tells the story of Chloe. We see Chloe leaving her apartment, in Montreal. Chloe is hitching north and will be stopped by no one. Where is she going? What is the hurry? Why the urgency? Chloe is seeking answers but why and from whom? Martin Laroche maintains the suspense superbly. We follow Chloe on her journey. Hand-held camera adding to the suspense and the feeling that we are part of the journey. Chloe arrives at her destination: Tadoussac. Barters her labour for a bed at the youth hostel and works her way around the community. Chloe finds a boat named..Chloe. She hangs around a house but continues to work so is limited in her quest time. The genius of Martin Laroche’s film (runner up at Dieppe 2017) is the way it builds the atmosphere through such everyday actions as sweeping floors and cleaning toilets. The quest has to be answered. Finally we learn the truth; Chloe is seeking her Mother, and she finds her. Will the relentless quest be rewarded by a happy reunion or will she be disappointed and rejected? Will her reception be as cold as a Tadoussac winter? This beautiful film is worth seeking out so I wont spoil the path the film takes towards the end. There is a rare power of story telling in the way Laroche approaches his task. There is nothing sentimental, nothing easy, the film is as harsh as the climate but yet the devotion that Chloe goes about her seeking for answers produces a film of distinction and quality.
Martin Laroche perfectly demonstrates the need for organisations like the National Film Board of Canada and shows the benefits of the all embracing approach to film-making the French-Canadian film industry has. Laroche; writer, producer, director does the lot, as so many producers of independent films do. Without support and assistance this film would never have been made and talent and performances, like those of Camille Mongeau and Isabelle Blais would have never found their voice.
