Works to see at Fantasia

Fans of genre cinema vibrate to the rhythm of Fantasia, which presents, until August 3, films that are largely off the beaten track. Here are our suggestions of works not to be missed.

Wasp

Actor Marc Beaupré launches himself behind the camera with this remarkable first short film, which follows like an anxiety-provoking suspense on the daily life of a motel owner. Who is this stranger lurking? And how to protect your child from this unreassuring presence? The excellent Marie-France Marcotte carries the film on her shoulders, delivering a performance of rare raw energy, in tune with the tense direction and the distressing music. The creation is presented in the first part of Punta Sinistraa rather delightful B series by Renaud Gauthier (author of the delirious Discopath and Aquaslash) which does not make you want to travel to Mexico. The aesthetic effects make you smile, just like the great barbarity of certain outrageous sequences.

Presented on July 23 at 7 p.m. at the Musée du Cinéma.

Huesera

In line with the classic Rosemary’s Baby, this traumatic work by Michelle Garza Cervera, presented July 29 at 7 p.m. at the Hall Theater, deals with a pregnancy that goes wrong. Between the fear of not being up to it, the traumas of the past and a curse, this future mother begins to lose touch with reality, sinking into a nightmare populated by terrifying visions, including that of a mysterious force that have fun breaking bones. How to come out traumatized. For its part, its twin film Seire, of Kang Park, abuses fatherhood by also playing the card of hallucinations and beliefs. The heavy atmosphere gives no respite to the spectators, who constantly seek their bearings in this universe weighed down by regrets and melancholy.

Presented July 31 at 9:15 p.m. and August 3 at 5:15 p.m. in the Salle J. A. De Sève.

Whether the Weather Is Fine

The coming of a typhoon causes concern among its survivors in this unpredictable and visually impressive tale by Carlo Francisco Manatad, which straddles the gap between criticism of the system and magical realism. His work on form is matched only by his work on the human spirit, taking his time to fully feel the soul of his characters, including the heartbreaking face of Charo Santos-Concio – the protagonist of the mighty The Woman Who Left of Lav Diaz – becomes the symbol of incomprehension of the tumult in place. It all culminates in an unforgettable conclusion in many ways.

Presented July 29 at 7:25 p.m. and August 2 at 4:45 p.m. in the Salle J. A. De Sève.

Heaven: To the Land of Happiness

The South Korean seventh art likes to mix the most improbable genres. This is the case with Im Sang-soo’s new offering (The Housemaid) which goes from playful comedy to road movie, from the film of friends to the melodrama. All this while telling the extraordinary destinies of two sick men who are wanted by the police and thugs. Choi Min-sik (old boy) dominates a more nuanced cast than meets the eye, elevating this uniquely entertaining production.

Presented July 30 at 5 p.m. at the Hall Theatre.

Incredible but true

A killer tire, a jacket that drives you crazy, a giant fly: nothing is beyond Quentin Dupieux, who is back with this surreal project against the backdrop of a spatio-temporal rift. Darker and more disturbing than ever, the fable, which is presented on July 31 at 9:30 p.m. at the Hall Theater, multiplies the surprises, responding only to its own logic. The cast that brings together Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel and Anaïs Demoustier plays perfectly in tone, bringing depth and emotion to a subject that could have run out of steam quickly. Why not push the weirdness even further and do a doubleheader with The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra, by Park Syeyoung? This is a unique debut feature of its kind, which combines romance, existential crises… and mold that turns into a serial killer!

Presented on July 22 at 12:05 p.m. and July 26 at 7:15 p.m. in the Salle J. A. De Sève.

Next Sohee

Fantasia could hardly have presented a more beautiful closing film than this magnificent psychological drama. The head full of dreams for the future of our young heroine are crushed by the institutionalized violence of the world of work. The cinephile suffocates with its beautiful solitary female characters, while July Jung’s careful staging plays with finesse and subtlety in its way of making all these destructive silences palpable. One of the great cinematic vintages of 2022.

Presented August 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hall Theatre.