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40-465: Arcand cited his later film Days of Darkness (2007) as similar to Stardom , though Days of Darkness was ostensibly a sequel to his other films The Decline of the American Empire (1986) and The Barbarian Invasions (2003). This article related to a Canadian film of the 2000s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a 2000s comedy-drama film

80-544: A Pontius Pilate -like judge played by Arcand, and meets a lawyer, Richard Cardinal, played by Yves Jacques who – looking out over the city from a skyscraper – offers Daniel profit and fame, telling him "The city is yours," which is a reference to the Temptation of Christ . After he is injured, Daniel is taken to the Jewish General Hospital . Arcand said this is a deliberate parallel with Jesus being

120-509: A passion play in a Quebec church (the film uses the grounds of Saint Joseph's Oratory on Mount Royal ), combining religious belief with unconventional theories on a historical Jesus . As the church turns against the main actor and author of the play, his life increasingly mirrors the story of Jesus , and the film adapts numerous stories from the New Testament . The film came out to critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including

160-461: A passion play in its gardens. The priest, Father Leclerc, asks him to "modernize" the classic play the church has been using, which he considers dated. Despite working with material others consider to be clichéd, Daniel is inspired and carries out intensive academic research, consulting archaeology to check the historicity of Jesus and drawing on supposed information on Jesus in the Talmud , using

200-437: A " Negro ", though Jean-Marc insists he simply said William "slaves like a Negro" and William was not personally disturbed by it. Faced with a complete lack of a sex life, he tells his co-workers he is left with masturbation. Jean-Marc begins to entertain fantasies about women, and about revenge on his co-workers, while sharing how he feels his life turned out to be less than he anticipated. One of his fantasies revolves around

240-804: A " blank check " after his success with The Decline of the American Empire (1986). This budget was unusually large for a Quebec film. The film received $ 500,000 from the National Film Board of Canada . Arcand saw actress Johanne-Marie Tremblay in Straight for the Heart (1988) and cast her as Constance, one of Daniel's actresses who takes him in to live with her. She reprised her role as Constance in Arcand's later films The Barbarian Invasions (2003) and Days of Darkness (2007). Robert Lepage , who played René, one of Daniel's "disciples",

280-457: A Jew "rejected by his own people," but Arcand depicted the hospital as efficient and better organized than other Montreal hospitals because he felt this was accurate. Scholar Jeremy Cohen tied the Jewish doctor's statement "we lost him" to the idea of Jewish deicide . At the end, Daniel's organs are donated to distant patients who speak various languages, echoing Jesus' miracles restoring sight to

320-427: A beard at an audition at a Montreal conservatory, saying "I'm sorry, I'm Jesus." The actor explained that he had the role of Jesus in a passion play at Saint Joseph's Oratory . Arcand went to see the play and recalls, "I saw actors in a mediocre production which received shouted applause from the tourists. I decided I had to make a film." The actor also spoke to Arcand about the difficulties he and his friends had in

360-520: A character named Veronica Star, a beautiful woman he showers with. Through speed dating , he also meets a female Lord of the Rings enthusiast who takes him to a Middle Ages-themed fair. Director Denys Arcand claimed he wrote parts of the screenplay imagining actor Marc Labrèche as the lead. After six months of work on the screenplay, Arcand met Labrèche and asked him to set aside some months for filming Days of Darkness . The Middle Ages fair scene

400-538: A distance or from the air to represent God viewing the city. He claimed that while French-Canadian churches in Montreal denied permission to shoot inside their buildings, an English-language Catholic church allowed the crew to use its space. He said this was because, although church members asked to see the screenplay, they could not read French and needed money from the rental. Some scenes were shot near Saint Joseph's Oratory . A substantial amount of theatrical blood

440-469: A gross of C$ 747,000. Jesus of Montreal did not enjoy the degree of success in France as Arcand's prior The Decline of the American Empire (1986), drawing an audience of 187,827 people, the eighth highest for a Quebec film to date. Generally, the film did not meet expectations in drawing audiences in countries with predominantly Roman Catholic populations, with Arcand claiming using the name Jesus in

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480-554: A satire of "flaws and foibles of this dark age". Variety ' s Derek Elley described the film as "ho-hum", finding fault in a repetitive screenplay. The film received negative reviews in France, with Les Inrockuptibles describing it as "a film from an old fool", and Le Nouvel Observateur declaring it "Le Déclin de l’empire Arcand". Canada submitted the film for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . In January 2008, Academy members shortlisted

520-575: A teacher to his actors, as Jesus was to his disciples . Another actor named Pascal Berger, played by Cédric Noël , praises Daniel as John the Baptist hailed Jesus. Pascal "loses his head" when an advertiser uses his photo to sell perfume, just as John the Baptist was beheaded. Daniel's outburst in the audition scene evokes the Cleansing of the Temple . In the subsequent criminal case, Daniel has

560-422: A world that can't recognize its own hypocrisy or hear a voice in the wilderness". Jonathan Rosenbaum called it a "must-see". David Denby of New York , however, felt Jesus of Montreal was "smug from the beginning", but the film was not boring thanks to Arcand's "theatricality and skill". Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C−, questioning the controversy depicted in the film, saying "Hasn’t Canada, in

600-439: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Days of Darkness (2007 Canadian film) Days of Darkness ( French : L'Âge des ténèbres ), also known as The Age of Ignorance , is a 2007 black comedy-drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand and starring Marc Labrèche , Diane Kruger and Sylvie Léonard . Presented as the third part of Arcand's loose trilogy also consisting of The Decline of

640-752: Is a movie, not a race". The film was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007. The film also screened in the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2007. While considered part of a loose trilogy following The Decline of the American Empire and The Barbarian Invasions , Arcand acknowledged in a 2007 interview Days of Darkness had more similarities to his less successful 2000 film Stardom . In 2018, Arcand's The Fall of

680-416: Is performed, the audience is thrilled; the show receives excellent reviews. Father Leclerc, however, regards it as controversial. He angrily distances himself from Daniel. The actor's life is further complicated when he attends one of Mireille's auditions. Mireille is told to remove her top, causing an outburst from Daniel in which he damages equipment and assaults a director, resulting in criminal charges. When

720-706: Is the Saint Lawrence River in Bas-Saint-Laurent , seen in the sequence with actress Johanne-Marie Tremblay , reprising her role as Constance from Jesus of Montreal (1989) and The Barbarian Invasions . Special effects were added to the film by Hybride, based in Montreal , while sound mixing was carried out in Paris , and both processes met with delays. Arcand told his wife, producer Denise Robert , not to rush post-production, saying "This

760-595: The Genie Award for Best Picture and the Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival . The film was also nominated for the 1989 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . Critics in the Toronto International Film Festival have regarded the film as one of the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time . In Montreal , an unknown actor named Daniel is hired by a Roman Catholic pilgrimage's site ("le sanctuaire") to present

800-407: The Jewish General Hospital . Despite immediate, skilled, and energetic efforts by the doctors and nurses, he is pronounced brain dead . His doctor asks for the consent of his friends, since he has no known relatives, to take his organs for donation, stating that they would have been able to save him if he had been brought in half an hour earlier. After his death, his eyes and heart are used to restore

840-485: The Toronto International Film Festival ranked the film second in the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time in 1993 and 2004 and fourth in 2015. In 2003, Rob Mackie of The Guardian called the film "thought-provoking and wickedly funny" and said "Lothaire Bluteau, makes a charismatic focus whose performance makes sense of the whole thing". In 2010, British critic Mark Kermode named Bluteau as one of "The 10 best screen faces of Jesus," calling him "mesmerising" and praising

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880-435: The American Empire (1986) and The Barbarian Invasions (2003), it was followed by a fourth film with similar themes, The Fall of the American Empire (2018). The film follows a depressed québecois bureaucrat who, feeling insignificant, retreats into a fantasy world. The film was screened out of competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival . It was nominated for four Genie Awards , including Best Motion Picture , and

920-530: The American Empire followed similar themes as Decline and The Barbarian Invasions . Plans to release the film in Quebec in May were delayed due to incomplete special effects and sound mixing, causing the release date to be re-set for 7 December. By 27 December, it grossed $ 852,547 in Quebec. L'Âge des ténèbres was released in English under the titles Days of Darkness and The Age of Ignorance . The film

960-618: The Middle Ages fair sequence is tedious. Yann Buxeda wrote in Toronto's L'Express that the film was not a masterpiece, but Marc Labrèche helped it. Sun Media 's Bruce Kirkland dismissed the film as occasionally charming, but unsubtle, uneven and unable to meet expectations. Kirk Honeycutt, writing for The Hollywood Reporter in response to the Cannes screening, called the film the most amusing of Arcand's "impressive trilogy", and

1000-405: The Talmud name Yeshua Ben Pantera for Jesus, whom he portrays. He includes arguments that the biological father of Jesus was a Roman soldier who left Palestine shortly after impregnating the unwed Mary . He assembles his cast, found from insignificant and disreputable backgrounds (one being a man who does pornographic voiceovers), and moves in with two of them, Constance and Mireille. When the play

1040-550: The acting profession, taking undesirable roles in TV advertisements and pornographic films . As a lapsed Catholic and self-proclaimed atheist, Arcand did not envision Jesus of Montreal as a religious film, adding, "In my film, the story of the Passion is a metaphor of an artist and his struggles and temptations." He spent a year in 1987 writing the screenplay. The film was made on a budget of $ 4.2 million, with Arcand saying he got

1080-465: The blind and raising of the dead, as well as symbolizing his own resurrection and influence around the world. Daniel's "disciples" also continue his work after he dies, led by Martin, played by Rémy Girard , who is an analogue of Saint Peter , but under the guidance of Cardinal, suggesting that by institutionalizing their message it may become corrupted. The idea for the film came to director Denys Arcand after an actor apologized for appearing with

1120-400: The film among nine for the 80th Academy Awards , but it was not nominated. Jesus of Montreal Jesus of Montreal ( French : Jésus de Montréal ) is a 1989 Canadian comedy drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand , and starring Lothaire Bluteau , Catherine Wilkening and Johanne-Marie Tremblay . The film tells the story of a group of actors in Montreal who perform

1160-483: The film as a "genuine masterpiece" and "real cinematic miracle". In 2014, Marc-Andre Lussier of the Montreal-based La Presse called the film excellent. E! Online named it the third best "Jesus-inspired" film, calling it "beautiful" and "inventive". In 2001, an industry poll conducted by Playback named it the sixth best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years. Jesus of Montreal won

1200-499: The film three and a half stars, calling Arcand "the best of the new generation of Quebec filmmakers", and saying "It's interesting the way Arcand makes this work as theology and drama at the same time", adding Lothaire Bluteau is perfectly cast. Caryn James of The New York Times called the film "intelligent" and "audacious", particularly praising the first half "before it gives in to leaden, self-conscious Christ imagery". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote "Arcand has exposed

1240-554: The films that did contend for the Palme d'Or in 2007. On Canoe.ca , Antoine Godin wrote the film structure felt less complete than The Barbarian Invasions and lacked its power. Marc-André Lussier  [ fr ] , writing for La Presse , said parts of the film were embarrassing and the Medieval fair scenes dragged, but the realistic scenes were great. Manon Dumais of Voir judged it one of Arcand's lesser films, saying

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1280-566: The health of other patients. In the wake of his death, Daniel's friends start a theatre company to carry on his work. Authors have written Jesus of Montreal has "many parallels" to the New Testament , and "is so loaded with all sorts of fascinating allusions" between modern Quebec and the Gospels . Daniel is mainly known to the public through "hearsay", and is reported to have traveled to India and Tibet , reflecting "extra-biblical legends" about Jesus. The story begins when Daniel becomes

1320-474: The higher authorities of the Roman Catholic Church strongly object to his interpretation of Jesus and security forces stop a performance, the audience and actors oppose them and Daniel is injured in an ensuing accident. Daniel is first taken by ambulance to an overrun Catholic hospital where he is neglected. He leaves and collapses on a Montreal Metro platform. The same ambulance takes him to

1360-481: The past 20 years, ever seen a single touring company of Jesus Christ, Superstar ?" and claiming the film "flits between the smug and the ersatz mystical". Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said the scenes where Daniel collects his actors are the best part of the film, but the rest is outdated. In terms of religious response, Jesus of Montreal met "dead calm" on its release, in contrast to Scorsese's more controversial The Last Temptation of Christ . Critics in

1400-524: The title made the subject matter appear cliché. In the U.S., Stephen J. Nichols referred to it as "not-very-popular" and said it was Martin Scorsese 's The Last Temptation of Christ "to dominate the 1980s" in dramatic portrayals of Jesus . Jesus of Montreal enjoyed mostly positive review. The film has an approval rating of 69% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , based on 16 reviews, and an average rating of 6.8/10. Roger Ebert gave

1440-441: Was a playwright and said that aside from TV and student films, Jesus of Montreal was his first major acting role. He said that the screenplay was complete and detailed, leaving less room for improvisation than he expected. The film was shot with mobile cameras on location in Montreal, which has many churches against its skyline and has been "a center of Catholicism since its beginnings". Arcand stated he often shot Montreal from

1480-594: Was inspired by a photograph Arcand saw of hundreds of people wearing historic costumes and holding swords and spears. Arcand wondered why all of these people would want to stage a fictional war, and visited a similar event in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, Quebec . Arcand chose to film in the Montreal Olympic Stadium , citing its high cost to build and maintain. To him, this represented "a society that’s falling down". Another filming location

1520-512: Was released on DVD in Quebec on 30 June 2008, showing the provincial and international versions of the film differed by five minutes. Days of Darkness has an approval rating of 20% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , based on 5 reviews, and an average rating of 5.5/10. In Canada, Peter Howell praised the film in The Toronto Star as "exceptional", simultaneously "depressing" and "uplifting", and better than some of

1560-523: Was required for the passion play scenes. In Canada, it won the Golden Reel Award , indicating the highest box-office performance of any Canadian film that year with a gross of C$ 2.53 million in Canada. It went on to gross C$ 3 million. In English Canada , it was among only three Canadian films to gross over $ 500,000 between 1987 and 1990, along with Black Robe and Dead Ringers with

1600-475: Was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . Jean-Marc Leblanc is a bureaucrat and a once passionate supporter of the Quebec sovereignty movement . His wife, Sylvie, and daughters are no longer interested in him. At work, he is repeatedly bothered by his superior Carole who berates him for issues such as taking longer breaks than allowed, and for calling black Canadian co-worker William

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