We could have feared a game in which the dice are loaded in advance between the supporters of wokism (a word now overused), the followers of identity withdrawal, Quebecers “of choice” and Quebecers “of stock”. In other words, we could have feared the worst in the face of such sensitive and delicate subjects (education, immigration, faith), which could not be more topical. Gold, A revision is a real success. This is a work that could even contribute to enriching our social debate.
By bringing to the screen a screenplay written by Louis Godbout (Mount Foster) and the novelist Normand Corbeil, two former professors of philosophy, the director Catherine Therrien, who also has to her credit the series District 31 and Fork, offers a thrilling tale in terms of ideas, and manages to avoid the many traps that arose in front of her. Without any Manichaeism, it gives pride of place to exchanges, while also illustrating the blind spots that arise in the respective visions of the protagonists, just as much as ours.
It all starts with Nacira (Nour Belkhiria), a CEGEP student who, as part of a school work, quotes a poetic passage from the Koran, even if the use of religious texts, regardless of their origin, is prohibited. Very open-minded, Étienne (Patrice Robitaille), his philosophy teacher, however, finds himself obliged to give his student a worse mark because of this departure from the established rules.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE SEVILLE FILMS
Nour Belkhiria as Nacira
In The brio, which Yvan Attal realized a few years ago, Daniel Auteuil played a teacher who used his authority to impose his ideas and his provocative words – limit fascists – by directly targeting a student of Muslim faith. The dynamics here are completely different. By contesting the grade awarded to her, unfair in her eyes, Nacira is not looking for confrontation, but rather for a discussion, which Étienne gladly welcomes. It is from the moment when the school establishment gets involved – with its procession of committees – that the affair gets confused.
Sow doubt
Thereby, A revision is not so much a film on the great philosophical principles as on the framework which one makes of these principles in a school framework. In a system where we do not want to displease anyone, where we want each student to obtain the passing grade, where we advocate inclusion at all costs, here is a paragraph in an essay sows doubt on both sides of the argument. With, the key, an instrumentalisation of the two protagonists by the establishment responsible for rendering a decision. This is the best tip in a script that has itself been “revised” several times.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE SEVILLE FILMS
Patrice Robitaille in A revision, a movie directed by Catherine Therrien
Nour Belkhiria (revealed thanks to Antigone) and Patrice Robitaille offer remarkable performances, in a feature film in which also stand out solid actors – Édith Cochrane, Rabah Aït Ouyahia, Pierre Curzi in particular – in peripheral roles. Although it is dramaturgically imperfect (a story involving another student seems to have been artificially grafted into the script and one scents too much for compromise in the final scene), the fact remains that as a first feature film, Catherine Therrien is very striking. strong, where it is needed.
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Drama
A revision
Catherine therrien
With Patrice Robitaille, Nour Belkhiria, Rose-Marie Perreault
1 h 33