The cheerfulness and camaraderie were palpable Monday afternoon at the Cinéplex Odéon Quartier Latin, where the film’s artisans gathered Our sisters-in-lawby René Richard Cyr, inspired by the musical theatre that the latter directed in 2014. On stage, where bursts of laughter, compliments and anecdotes were exchanged, the entire team agreed to sum up the incredible adventure of the screen adaptation of Michel Tremblay’s classic with a single word: sisterhood.
In addition to the film, which largely revolves around this theme, the actresses — Geneviève Schmidt, Guylaine Tremblay, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Véronic DiCaire, Valérie Blais, Ariane Moffatt, Debbie Lynch-White, Pierrette Robitaille, Diane Lavallée and Jeanne Bellefeuille — have developed a real affection and admiration for one another. “I know it’s a cliché to say this, but we loved each other right away,” summarizes Anne-Élisabeth Bossé.
It must be said that starting the project with grueling rehearsals in the dance studio and learning the professional choreographies imagined by the Team White duo builds team spirit. “For Team White, dance is a language. It’s as easy for them to learn steps as it is for us to learn lyrics. The first day, after four hours of work, Anne-Élisabeth said to the dancers: “It’s because we eat!”,” says Guylaine Tremblay with a big burst of laughter. “It was very demanding work, we discovered muscles we didn’t suspect.”
“But it was also the best exercise of team building possible,” adds Ariane Moffatt. “From the beginning, we encouraged each other, we helped each other, we visited the physiotherapist together.” This natural complicity is also essential to the success of the feature film.
Diving into intimacy
As a reminder, Our sisters-in-law tells the story of Germaine Lauzon, a housewife and mother whose life is completely turned upside down when she wins a million stamps. In these little pieces of paper, Germaine sees a promise of happiness. Welcome new appliances, the latest clothes, a toolbox, bicycles and beauty products. The entire catalog is within her reach.
To tackle the chore of sticking stamps, she invites her sister, her sister-in-law and her neighbors to a party special, where they will take the opportunity to exchange the latest gossip and confidences. However, Germaine’s joy and luck soon arouse the jealousy and contempt of her guests.
The storyline, already rich in timeless themes — overconsumption, envy, overwork, gender inequality, abuse, violence and abortion — is punctuated by musical numbers based on compositions by Daniel Bélanger.
Even though René Richard Cyr had already adapted Tremblay’s play into a musical, its transition to the big screen—an idea from producer Denise Robert—required a lot of rewriting. “Initially, the script was almost essentially that of the musical. Then, the pandemic happened, and that gave me some perspective,” he explained in an interview with Duty.
“I understood that cinema gave me additional tools and freedom to tell this story. I could leave the kitchen to delve into the daily lives and intimacy of women, show where they come from, [défis] that they meet, so that we can then understand their motivations, their jealousy, their misery. It also allowed me to take a modern look at another era, which is actually not so far away. I wanted us to forget the play and see a film, and I thank Michel Tremblay for his trust. It was a long writing process, but I loved it.”
The power of the heart
While the work, and particularly the scenes that take place in the kitchen, almost entirely respects Michel Tremblay’s dialogues, the filmmaker, who is making his first film here, has taken certain liberties, adding characters, pairing others, adding scenes in each of his heroines’ homes, creating real retro and vibrant universes for his musical numbers.
And although the feature film includes several sung numbers, the director says he did not want to make a musical.
“I think it’s important to claim it, and not just for those who are put off by the genre, but because I deeply wanted the film not to become a pretext for songs. Even Michel Tremblay sometimes said that the exchanges between his characters became so beautiful, so larger than life, that they could have started singing.”
René Richard Cyr therefore rather took advantage of these numbers to give himself a certain aesthetic permission. “I am a great lover of Jacques Demy. I saw Umbrellas of Cherbourg 42 times, and I still cry like a cow when I watch it. There is in this formula a great audacity of script, which reinforces the truth of what is told. Rather than passing over the story, I wanted the numbers to highlight the inner revolt of these women, this anger that will become a driving force for change. Men may have the economic power, but women have that of intelligence and heart, the one that really moves society forward.
It is also to embrace the courage, combativeness and flamboyance of his characters that the director – who cites the film among his influences La La Land (2016) by Damien Chazelle, Dancer in the Dark (2000) by Lars von Trier and Eight women (2002) by François Ozon — wanted to make a vibrant and colorful film, far from the dull and austere atmospheres that often characterize period films. “These women were experiencing great sexual, family, emotional and financial difficulties. They wear their dignity on the outside. I can’t imagine this film being brown, sad, dirty and poorly lit.”
The film crew also filmed in real Montreal apartments whose decor perfectly matched their vision of the film. “We didn’t change anything, except the appliances. The wallpaper, the flourishes in the wood, everything has been authentic for 60 years. In my home, which comes from a working-class family, the doors were yellow, the walls were blue. My mother always wore an impeccable dress. Our watchword, both in the staging and in the acting, was authenticity. Even if we were working from archetypes.”
The story takes place in the 1960s, and yet the themes addressed still resonate strongly today. “It’s a film that talks about the importance of community, the power of women to overcome difficulties together,” says Ariane Moffatt. “We address opulence in the face of gains, jealousy, abuse, domestic violence. We remind ourselves that the battles won are sometimes fragile,” adds Anne-Élisabeth Bossé.
“And the quest for happiness through consumption, can that be a more modern subject?” asks Geneviève Schmidt, who plays the main character, Germaine, citing as an example the Amazon package she received that very morning. “My character thinks that novelty will make her happy, so much so that she forgets that she had everything to be happy from the start.”
Let’s give the last word to Guylaine Tremblay. “There is a reason why Michel Tremblay’s play transcends eras and borders. His message speaks of the trials that women of all ages and backgrounds go through. I think the film will have the same fate.”
The film Our sisters-in-law hits theaters on July 11.