Our Sisters-in-Law, by René Richard Cyr | The actresses have their say

The actresses of Sisters-in-law gave their impressions of René Richard Cyr’s film at a press conference on Monday. The Press collected their comments.

Jeanne Bellefeuille (Linda Lauzon)

“It’s easy to be pessimistic with everything that’s going on in the world, but just having this little reminder that not so long ago, we stayed at home, we didn’t work, we were completely dependent on our husbands, I think it’s a beautiful ode to the path we’ve taken, even if there’s still more to do. I think it’s a beautiful message of love, of dreams. There were words that I didn’t know because I didn’t know Tremblay’s language, but my parents gave me a helping hand.”

Valerie Blais (Lisette de Courval)

“My character reminded me of my family. When I was a child, I lived in France, and when I came back in the summer, my aunts who looked after me would say: “She came back from Europe; it’s a beautiful country, Europe; she goes back to the Europes in August.” Lisette de Courval is all the snobbery of my aunts who couldn’t believe that my mother and I had lived in France for two years. It’s something I know, it’s in my DNA. My mother is the youngest of a family of 15 children; we had card nights.”

Anne-Elisabeth Bossé (Rose Ouimet)

“When people ask me how to approach such a mythical role, how to play that era, I never know what to answer as an actress because I never play an age, an era. It’s about jealousy, envy, gain, regrets. We don’t play aprons, dresses, kitchens. We play real emotions, real humans. I know how to play abuse because I know what it’s like inside me for real. I’m happy that the emotion comes out of the film and not just the homage to the era.”

Veronic DiCaire (Pierrette Guérin)

“I feel like these women are all feminists, but I really claim the feminist side of my role through the choices she made: leaving home, making her own life, wearing pants. Unfortunately, she made some bad choices. This beautiful Pierrette, who was played by some very great actresses, was a great big gift, an opportunity to play in a dramatic register, which I don’t do much. I was very proud to carry the feminist flag for Pierrette, hoping that after the film, she would rebuild herself, that she and her sister would have spoken to each other again.”

Debbie Lynch-White (Des-Neiges Verrette)

“We chatted a lot, we spent a lot of time in the kitchen. It was great fun to be there, we were really like real sisters-in-law. René Richard [Cyr] was tired of people talking: “You will take your numbers and you will call each other.” It was a joy to be directed by him and to play with him – I had the double treat. I love this duo, we approached it with great gentleness, delicacy. I find [M. Simard et Des-Neiges] extremely touching in their candor, in their shyness, in their desire to be in love, to let themselves be carried away by this nascent love.”

Ariane Moffatt (Yvette Longpré)

“It’s a bit like in sports where you’re better because you’re surrounded by people who propel you upwards. For a first entry into the world of cinema, I found it fun to be in a chorus thing, a choral role, where you have to insist on your punchlines if the other person doesn’t return the ball to you properly. I tried to do my homework as much as possible, to discover the truth and the life of this character by learning it, by letting it unfold as best as possible. It was an unforgettable experience for me.”

Pierrette Robitaille (Rhéauna Bibeau)

“These women are representative of a lot of women, but also of a force. And this force still exists today. There are people who will fight to achieve a goal, to get out of poverty; it’s very, very current. There are some who get through it, others less so, but I think there’s a lot of love in it, a lot of passion for life. It’s a film that is realistic and has things to say. And that’s from time immemorial and it’s still true today.”

Guylaine Tremblay (Thérèse Dubuc)

“When we performed the play in Paris, people told us that they recognized their mother, their grandmother. That’s when you realize that the main theme of the Sisters-in-law is universal, without borders. For me, they are resilient women, who are anything but losers. In their own way, they try to get by, but sometimes, it is clumsy. Germaine believes that having a new living room set will make her happy. She is in the quest for happiness through consumption; we are still in that when you see the number of Amazon packages that arrive every day.