Posted yesterday at 7:00 a.m.
The expected Hollywood productions will be almost all there: Spider-Man: No Way Home (Spider-Man — No Return), by Jon Watts, West Side Story, by Steven Spielberg, The Matrix Resurrections (The Matrix – Resurrections), by Lana Wachowski, Nightmare Alley (nightmare alley), by Guillermo del Toro, and Song 2 (Sing! 2), by Garth Jennings.
Benedetta, by Paul Verhoeven, Josep, by Aurel, Flee, by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, God’s hand, by Paolo Sorrentino, Prayer for a lost mitten, by Jean-Francois Lesage, Red Rocket, by Sean Baker, and The Power of the Dog (The power of the dog), by Jane Campion, will also have the opportunity to make a comeback on the big screen. At the Cinéma du Musée, we also resume the program made up of short films die alive (Benoit Briere) Crossing (Eve Saint-Louis) and The human voice (Pedro Almodovar).
The rare exception? goodbye happiness. At Les Films Opale, which distributes this comedy by Ken Scott which had to leave the poster after three days of exploitation in December, we prefer to wait a little before relaunching the film, which recently won an award at the International Comedy Film Festival in Alpe d’Huez. goodbye happiness will be back in theaters across Quebec on March 11.
“The performance award that the four actors collectively obtained at Alpe d’Huez had a good echo in Quebec and we want to give the film the best chance possible,” says Christian Larouche, producer and distributor. We first let all the headlines come through, and we can probably better position ourselves afterwards. On March 11, there will also be fewer films in competition. But we had to go out confessions [Luc Picard] that day, but we will postpone it, probably to the summer, in order to make room for Goodbye happiness. »
Addition of novelties
While some cinemas will not resume their activities until February 11, the director of the Beaubien, du Parc and Musée cinemas in Montreal, Mario Fortin, has decided to reopen his theaters as of February 7 in order to allow himself “a few days of running-in “. As in other cinemas, there will be films from before the Holidays.
We went around all the distributors to find out their intentions and it happens that most of them wanted to relaunch the films that left theaters on December 20 when we were brutally shut down.
Mario Fortin, director of the Beaubien, Park and Museum cinemas
In addition to all these productions that will come back to life in theaters, we must add several firsts of the moment. Film buffs will be delighted to finally be able to see Drive My Car. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s film, winner of the best screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year, is a favorite with critics and could well figure favorably in the next race for the Oscars.
Among the scoops that will be offered by the major exhibition chains from February 7, we should also mention American Underdog, by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin, Beautiful, a Japanese animated film directed by Mamoru Hosoda, Jackass Forever, by Jeff Tremaine, The King’s Daughter, by Sean McNamara, Scream (Chills), by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, without forgetting The 355 (The 355), by Simon Kinberg.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Thrill seekers will be able to see Scream (Chills) premiering on the big screen on February 7.
Two French feature films will also be offered as soon as theaters reopen: It’s life, comedy by Julien Rambaldi, and We are made for each other, by Pascal Elbe.
Familiar rules
The implementation of this reopening of theaters will still be a little less difficult than the previous ones, insofar as the health rules that must be observed in cinemas (vaccination passport, wearing a mask, capacity reduced to 50%, distancing) are exactly those to which operators were subjected when the spotlights went out in December.
“We apply the measures to the letter so that the spectator feels safe, specifies for his part Daniel Séguin, senior vice-president of the Cineplex chain.
Studios have been experimenting with simultaneous theatrical and online releases over the past few months and I believe they now recognize the importance of an exclusive theatrical release before hitting the platforms. We feel their support, in any case.
Daniel Séguin, vice-president of the Cineplex chain for Eastern Canada
Like Daniel Séguin, Vincent Guzzo is delighted with the return of employees who, for the most part, agree to return to their jobs. “We were already short of staff before December 20, which prevented me from doing screenings in the morning, but everyone who was there is coming back. »
IMAGE PROVIDED BY ENTRACT FILMS
Flee, very beautiful film by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, is one of the films that will resume the poster from February 7th.
Spoiled for choice
Opening the doors of its cinemas on February 8 only, “because Tuesday is a big day”, the general manager of Cinémas Guzzo, very critical of the health policies of the Quebec government, indicates that he was “spoiled for choice” to establish its recovery program.
“The obligation of the vaccination passport has hurt us in some cinemas, not at all in others. We were even almost back to normal in a few. With the Spiderman, Scream, The 355, Jackass and all that, I think people will come back. »