Directed by Philippe Lesage
It’s taken a while to catch up with Philippe Lesage, who spent several years in documentary filmmaking before pivoting to narrative cinema with "The Demons" and confirmed his mastery through the recent release of "Who by Fire". A proper overview is presented in this new retrospective comprising these films and 2018’s gripping "Genesis", itself a stealth sequel to "The Demons". Neither a provocateur in the Haneke or von Trier tradition nor a sentimentalist catering to audience desires, Lesage always seems one step ahead of us—his dialogue is harsher than we might anticipate, his scenarios often teeter between relaxation and brutality, and the overriding aesthetic pleases without bludgeoning. And that's to say nothing of his ear for music cues. This three-film series is a key opportunity to grasp one of modern Canadian cinema’s premier voices.
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The Demons
Directed by Philippe Lesage | 118 mins | 2015
Philippe Lesage’s fifth feature also marks his narrative debut, begetting an uncommon blend of atmosphere and storytelling. When a group of young boys are kidnapped in his suburban Montreal town, Felix, a fear-riddled 10-year-old, finds his wild imagi... -
Genesis
Directed by Philippe Lesage | 130 mins | 2018
"Genesis" takes one scene, if not a single second, to evince complete harmony between director and subject. In Philippe Lesage’s award-winning 2018 feature, itself a stealth sequel to "The Demons", Théodore Pellerin ("Lurker", "Beau Is Afraid") and No... -
Who By Fire
Directed by Philippe Lesage | 155 mins | 2024
Secluded getaways rarely go well in cinema, and the incredible concision of "Who by Fire" allows one to quickly surmise unease. Just how it does so, in its altogether surprising cohesion of character and incident, further proves Philippe Lesage a maj...
