Themes: Misfits and Outsiders, Questioning Sexuality, Eccentric Families
Main Cast: Michel Cote, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Émile Vallée, Maxime Tremblay, Pierre-Luc Brillant
Release Year: 2005
Country: CA
Run Time: 129 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A middle-class teenage misfit living in '70s era Montreal dreams of abandoning his familiar hometown surroundings to seek a brighter future in director Jean-Marc Vallée's character-driven drama. A sexually-confused Christmas Day baby who likes to march to the beat of his own drummer, Zachary Beaulieu (Marc-André Grondin) nevertheless longs to live up to his old-fashioned father's (Michel Cote) decidedly more traditional expectations. As Zachary seeks solace in the sounds of Pink Floyd and David Bowie, his mother assures him that he's bound for greater things and testosterone-fueled siblings raise hell around the house. Despite feeling bound by his comparatively normal surroundings, the revelations provided by David Bowie's "Space Oddity" allows the disheartened Zachary the luxury of dreaming. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Cast
Michel Cote - Gervais Beaulieu
Marc-André Grondin - Zachary Beaulieu (15-21 years old)
Danielle Proulx - Laurianne Beaulieu
Émile Vallée - Zachary Beaulieu (6-8 years old)
Maxime Tremblay - Christian Beaulieu (24-30 years old)
Pierre-Luc Brillant - Raymond Beaulieu (22-28 years old)
Alex Gravel - Antoine Beaulieu (21-27 years old); Felix-Antoine Despatie; Mariloup Wolfe - Brigitte (15-20 years old); Jean-Louis Roux - Priest; Francis Ducharme - Paul; Helen Gregoire - Madame Chose; Johanne Lebrun - Doris; Natasha Thompson - Michelle (15-22 years old); Claude Gagnon - Narrator; Michel Laperriere - Psychotherapist; Mohammed Majd - Bedouin; Anik Vermette - Corinne
Credit
Patrice Vermette - Art Director, Nicole Hilareguy - Associate Producer, Daniel Poisson - Casting, Jean-Marc Vallée - Co-producer, Ginnette Magny - Costume Designer, Jean-Marc Vallée - Director, Paul Jutras - Editor, Jacques Blain - Executive Producer, Richard Speer - Executive Producer, Réjean Goderre - Hair Styles, Patrice Vermette - Production Designer, Pierre Mignot - Cinematographer, Pierre Even - Producer, Patrice Vermette - Set Designer, Marc Cote - Special Effects, Yvon Benoit - Sound/Sound Designer, Martin Pinsonnault - Sound/Sound Designer, Bernard Gariepy Strobl - Sound/Sound Designer, Luc Boudrias - Sound/Sound Designer, Daniel Bisson - Sound/Sound Designer, Mira Mailhot - Sound/Sound Designer, Mireille Morin - Sound Editor, Simon Meilleur - Sound Editor, Jean-Francois Sauve - Sound Editor, Jean-Marc Vallée - Screenwriter, Francois Boulay - Screenwriter, Michel Bernier - First Assistant Camera, Louis Melancon - Matte Painting Supervisor, Genevieve Hebert - Post Production Supervisor, Sebastien Raymond - Still Photographer, Guy Beauchemin - Underwater Photography, Fake Studios - Visual Effects
C.R.A.Z.Y. is a 2005French-languageCanadian film from Quebec. The film was directed and co-written (with François Boulay) by Jean-Marc Vallée. It tells the story of Zac, a young man dealing with his emerging homosexual feelings while growing up with four brothers and a conservative father in 1960s and 1970s Quebec. The title derives from the first letter in the names of the five brothers: Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary and Yvan, and also refers to their father's abiding love of Patsy Cline's song "Crazy".
Zachary Beaulieu (Marc-André Grondin) grows up in the turbulent Québec of the 1960s and 1970s. The second-youngest son of a father with "more than normal-level male hormones" and raised among four other brothers, Zac struggles to define his own identity, and deal with the conflict between his emerging sexuality and his intense desire to please his strict, temperamental and conservative father. One of the film's themes is the waning influence of the Catholic Church in Québec society during the Quiet Revolution.
The Charles Aznavour song "Emmenez-moi" is repeated over and over in the film, often sung by the father. He also sings another Aznavour song - "Hier Encore", as part of Zac's 20th birthday celebrations.
Reception
C.R.A.Z.Y. was a strong box office hit by the standards of the relatively small Quebec market, grossing C$6.2 million. It was well-received by critics and currently holds a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
At the 26th Genie Awards for Canadian film it won 11 of the 13 awards, and won several awards at the Prix Jutra for Quebec films. It won awards at several film festivals internationally. It was also selected as Canada's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards, but was not one of the films nominated.
Prix Jutra, 2006: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Makeup, Best Hairstyle, Biggest Box Office Success, Most Illustrious Film outside of Quebec
Genie Awards, 2006: Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Direction, Achievement in Editing, Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Achievement in Sound Editing, Original Screenplay,
Gijon international film festival (Spain), 2005: Young jury's award (best film), best director (Jean-Marc Vallée), best script (François Boulay), best artistic direction (Patrice Bricault-Vermette)
