Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Should we be surprised to find you both on a film project like norbourgwhich seems, on paper, rather distant from your respective universes?
Maxime Giroux: Yes [rires] !
Simon Lavoie: It’s an evolution, a kind of coming out. We all love cinemas, in fact. It’s true that we usually offer auteur films that are perhaps a little more advanced, but we also like quality American cinema, narrative cinema.
M. G.: Gus Van Sant has always been a role model for me. He is able to go one way and the other without fear of going to extremes. Good Will Hunting really touched people, and then he did movies like Gerry Where last days, which are the complete opposite. He does well in everything he does, without ever losing his identity. I understand that people may find our presence on norbourg, but I’m also amazed that filmmakers always want to make the same film, apart from those who are inspired by their own lives. Personally, I don’t see cinema that way.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
For norbourgfilmmaker Maxime Giroux brought a screenplay by Simon Lavoie to the screen.
The story relates the rise of Vincent Lacroix (François Arnaud), responsible for the biggest financial scandal in the history of Quebec, but also of Éric Asselin (Vincent-Guillaume Otis), a much less known character, an investigator of the former Securities Commission who will become the right arm of the fraudster. Where did the idea for a film about the case come from? norbourg ?
SL: I came up with this idea a long time ago when a distributor asked me if I had a topic in mind that would have some commercial potential. But that didn’t materialize at the time. People tend to think that norbourg is a commissioned film, but no. This is a subject that I put forward, which interested Réal Chabot [le producteur] and Maxime arrived later. I believe that what happens in norbourg nevertheless joins themes that I have approached in other films, insofar as all my stories are anchored in Quebec society. The Norbourg affair is much more than a simple news story. It had a resounding echo and made a deep impression. The moral aspect of this story, the easy greed, with people jumping the fence with impunity, it’s all fascinating. This is what happened to Éric Asselin, a civil servant who, at the start, had a very orderly life.
MG: There is also that Quebeckers had never witnessed a fraud of this magnitude and many of us said to ourselves that they could easily have been victims of these two guys. We saw that in the United States, but nobody imagined that such a thing could happen here.
Simon, you have up to now brought to the screen yourself, sometimes also in co-directing, all the screenplays you have written. Why did you call on another filmmaker to norbourg ?
SL: I obviously thought for a while that I could direct this film myself, but as the project progressed, I thought it would be interesting to include another vision, carried by someone who could take a fresh look by contributing its expertise and know-how. I felt like Maxime could take it all to another level. I called on him when the script was finished, which means he’s been involved for five or six years.
MG: For my part, it felt good to work on a project that I hadn’t started, with a very precise scenario in terms of the direction. The directing challenge was to bring to the screen a very charged, very complex story, with a relatively short shooting schedule. It’s an American-style script that we had to produce within the parameters of Quebec cinema.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MAISON 4: 3 AND ENTRACT FILMS
In norbourgVincent-Guillaume Otis embodies Éric Asselin, the accomplice of Vincent Lacroix.
We all remember this story and the images of Vincent Lacroix leaving the courthouse pitifully after his conviction, but the fact is that he was released after three years, and that his associate, Éric Asselin, did not never been convicted. Should the uninitiated in the world of finance who will watch your film understand that they are not at all better protected today against this kind of fraud? Or are they?
MG: That’s the point. We just want viewers to ask questions like this. Because you still have to be very careful.
SL: Especially since today, everything is dematerialized and the world of finance takes place in the virtual world. It then becomes very abstract. Scammers no longer need to break into a house to steal money. The facts related in norbourg took place between 1998 and 2005. Since then, the number of frauds has increased. We are now in cryptocurrency, high speculation, and every day brings new stories. Fraudsters will always manage to find new ways to slip through the cracks. It is up to us to be vigilant, to hold ourselves accountable by not blindly handing over our personal finances without supervision.
MG: Many of Norbourg’s victims believed that their money was placed in a place managed by the Caisse de depot et placement and did not know that the funds had been sold to Norbourg, although it was relatively easy to find out. Today, we invest in virtual institutions where we can never speak directly to someone.
SL: And the sentences never seem to be commensurate with the crime, even though the injuries are as serious as those that can be suffered by victims of assault. There are people who have truly lost everything.
Are you happy with your film?
MG: Yes. Basically, I wanted to do it for the general public, which had never happened to me before. I want Quebecers to see this film to remember that this kind of fraud is possible. We wanted to offer an effective feature film, with a good script, and I think that works well. I’m proud of it, and I even think it’s the first time I’ve said that about one of my films!
SL: I also really like imagery. Maxime – and Sara Mishara in the photo – was able to capture the spirit of a slightly dirty Montreal, as we see it more rarely in our cinema.
norbourg is currently showing.