The Novena

The Novena
FrenchLa Neuvaine
Directed byBernard Émond
Written byBernard Émond
Produced byBernadette Payeur
StarringÉlise Guilbault
Patrick Drolet
CinematographyJean-Claude Labrecque
Edited byLouise Côté
Music byRobert Marcel Lepage
Production
company
Release date
Running time
97 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

The Novena (French: La Neuvaine) is a 2005 Canadian drama film, directed by Bernard Émond.[1]

An exploration of faith, the film centres on the interaction between Jeanne (Élise Guilbault), an atheist doctor who is suffering from clinical depression and wants to commit suicide after one of her patients is murdered by an abusive husband, and François (Patrick Drolet), a young, deeply religious man who is fervently praying for a miracle to save his dying grandmother.[2] The film is the first in a trilogy inspired by the Catholic theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, which continued with Summit Circle (Contre toute espérance) in 2007 and The Legacy (La Donation) in 2009.[3]

Plot

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Cast

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Accolades

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It premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2005, where it won three awards including Best Actor for Drolet.[3] In December 2005, it was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual Canada's Top Ten list of the year's best films.[4]

The film did not receive any Genie Award nominations, as its distributor deliberately chose not to submit the film at all.[5] It received eight Prix Jutra nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Émond), Best Actor (Drolet), Best Actress (Guilbault), Best Screenplay (Émond), Best Cinematography (Jean-Claude Labrecque), Best Editing (Louise Côté) and Best Music (Robert Marcel Lepage).[6] Guilbault won the Jutra for Best Actress.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "A film of amazing grace". Montreal Gazette, August 26, 2005.
  2. ^ "Quebec impresses at annual TIFF". Sherbrooke Record, September 2, 2005.
  3. ^ a b "Bernard Émond". The Canadian Encyclopedia, April 22, 2010.
  4. ^ "Topping the list: Canada's cinematic achievements". National Post, December 14, 2005.
  5. ^ "C.R.A.Z.Y. grabs 12 Genie nominations". Montreal Gazette, January 26, 2006.
  6. ^ "C.R.A.Z.Y. faces off against Maurice Richard with 14 nominations apiece". Montreal Gazette, February 8, 2006.
  7. ^ "Jutra judges wild about C.R.A.Z.Y.". Montreal Gazette, March 20, 2006.
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