PERCÉ – On May 6, 1972, the film “The true nature of Bernadette” was shown for the first time. Fifty years and a few weeks later, it was screened again in Percé as part of the Festival les Percéides in the company of one of the film’s main performers, Micheline Lanctôt.
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“It will be up to you to judge, but in my opinion, the film has aged very well”, shared the one who is at the festival as guest of honor and president of the jury, just before the screening of the feature film, presented in a version restored by the Éléphant organization: memory of Quebec cinema. Presented like all the other films of the event in the Charles-Robin barn, inaugurated last July, the intimate atmosphere of the place gave way to an ideal level of concentration for listening to the film.
After the presentation, which seemed to have been appreciated by the public, a question period on the film was planned, however, due to the boundless curiosity of the spectators, it focused instead on the multiple hats of actress, director and former lecturer at the university carried by Ms. Lanctôt.
“And activist,” she added in an interview with the QMI Agency after the public question period. “I was part of the association of directors, participated in a lot of fights, because there was a lot to do at the time. I stopped now, because there are others who have to take over.
Unfortunately, filming conditions have deteriorated a lot in recent years, shared the director of award-winning works like “Sonatine” and “For the love of God”. “It’s deteriorated for all sorts of reasons because the industry is currently in crisis because of the multiplication of platforms, the problem of distribution is not resolved, and no one knows where it will go. Some predicted the death of indoor cinema, but with the fairground origins of this art, I think people will have a hard time abandoning cinemas, ”she said.
Bernadette at the time of “Me Too”
Questions were also asked about Bernadette’s history and its current resonance. A lady wondered how someone younger, having grown up in the era of “Me Too”, would have reacted to the character of Bernadette, a woman who embraces free love. Having never broached the subject with younger audiences, she couldn’t answer on their perception, but remarks how important a character like that can be these days.
“Bernadette is a woman full of light, a character that we would need. I think with the eras of ‘Wokes’ and ‘Me Too’ we are turning against each other and it’s good to have this light source, ”she said.
Sea trip
The question-and-answer session was transposed a few hours later aboard the “Captain Duval II”, sailing around Bonaventure Island and Rocher Percé. We were able to learn that Ms. Lanctôt’s first jobs in animated film were decided in Percé, discover the behind the scenes of “Sonatine” and discover the preposterous story behind her Silver Lion, returned after several adventures. Ms. Lanctôt being a veritable chatterbox, the expedition ended nearly 30 minutes after the scheduled time, but no one complained, all entertained by her stories.