The (re)invention of Anna | The Press

There are bold and “fresh” series like Pet in Noovo or Before the crash of Radio-Canada, and there are series that are more outdated in their production and their slowness, such as Anna and Arnaud at VAT.

This melodramatic miniseries that derives from the book Anna and the child-old man by Francine Ruel delivers exactly what the viewer expects: rivers of tears, layers of cello, acoustic guitar and solo piano, a heartbreaking story, as well as urban scenes that are not always successful, unfortunately.

To tell you the truth, I was not so enthralled by Anna and Arnaud, a very (too?) conventional eight-episode miniseries that juggles with several clichés. The way homeless people talk to each other (mando you have rock?), the graffiti in the squat where the homeless sleep, the old battered sofa that sits in an alley worthy of a hip-hop music video, the aesthetic reconstruction of this little-known universe rings false on the screen, a bit like the representation of young twenty-somethings in Chaos.

In the end, we believe more or less in the realism of everyday life in the street, let’s say. You will see the first episode ofAnna and Arnaud Tuesday at 8 p.m. on TVA. Is this a bad show though? No. On the other hand, the insistence of the realization on the seriousness of the stakes ends up annoying.

It was not necessary to gratinate the episodes ofAnna and Arnaud so many tearful effects. We know that a mother who falls asleep every night wondering if her son is still alive is appalling, it’s atrocious. Just mentioning it is enough. No need to add heavy silences and sad music in the background.

It is Guylaine Tremblay who embodies the alter ego of Francine Ruel, a talented seamstress and workshop manager named Anna. In 1990, Anna almost lost her only son, Arnaud (Nico Racicot, seen in The blue Hour), giving birth to her. In 2010, when Arnaud was 20, Anna really lost her child, with whom she had forged a beautiful bond. After a shooting that leaves him disabled, Arnaud, who dreamed of becoming a guitarist, sinks into heroin and ends up in the street, where he begs in downtown Montreal. In the past ten years, Anna has never lost contact with Arnaud, despite the long periods of silence that made her fear the worst. You guess that Anna’s career and private life have suffered from her state of hypervigilance. Where will Arnaud sleep tonight? Has he eaten his fill? Who watches over him?

The plot ofAnna and Arnaud wanders between 2010 and 2021, and here’s the hair trick to not get lost in the multiple time jumps. In the 2010 scenes, Guylaine Tremblay wears an auburn wig with bangs. In 2021, Guylaine Tremblay sports blonder hair, often tied in a duvet.

Same hair trick for the actor who plays his son: in 2010, Nico Racicot is beardless and looks like a young Beatle. In 2021, Nico Racicot has a shaggy beard and messy hair held back by a tuque.

Anna and Arnaud is a television series that takes its time. In this sea of ​​ultra-caffeinated productions, this option will appeal, for example, to fans of perfect moments. You sit down in front of the TV to decompress and bawl a solid knowing that the story that unfolds before your eyes is inspired by that of Francine Ruel and her son Étienne Allard. On this subject, the vibrant testimony of Francine Ruel to Everybody talks about it in September 2019 had been overwhelming.

The episodes ofAnna and Arnaud communicate well the distress of a mother trying to mourn a living child. The scenes where Anna has to set her limits with Arnaud, who only sees her as an ATM, crush the heart. And Guylaine Tremblay being Guylaine Tremblay, the emotion goes like a bullet.

The police aspect ofAnna and Arnaud also arouses curiosity. In 2010, Arnaud was the victim of an attack, shot dead in the middle of the street. But was it a gratuitous attack, a mistake of the person or an act of revenge orchestrated by people who meant him harm?

Arnaud’s character, not always fair, shows an honest face of homelessness. Arnaud is not a violent man, he is sociable and treats his addiction to heroin by following a treatment with methadone. In his backpack, Arnaud always drags a naloxone kit to save comrades from overdosing on opioids. And when a homeless colleague steals his bag, and Arnaud does not replace his naloxone kit, tragedy is already anticipated.

In short, if you like TV more full-bodied and better roasted, pass your turn. If you prefer herbal tea TV, Anna and Arnaud will serve you with calming and less destabilizing episodes.