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Plot:
An unusually fertile imagination is at once the salvation and downfall of Léolo (Maxime Collin), a young Montreal boy growing up in a highly dysfunctional family. In order to cope with the chaos ...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:March 10, 2008LÉOLO (1993)
directed by Jean-Claude Lauzon
starring Maxime Collin, Ginette Reno, Pierre BourgaultI am not sure I liked this film or not but I know its a good film. Its about a kid who alters the world around him with his imagination to escape this crazy world he lives in but also to be able not to go mad like half of his family.Jean-Claude Lauzon has a cool vision for his main character but I have to say I am not sure his trashy poetry can be sold as somethign a kid would imagine. There are some great moments though, filled with such imagination you cannot not enjoy the thought.
Maxime Collin as the little Léolo is quite convincing even in the most awkward moments he doesnt back down. Ginette Reno as his mom is very good even if she has very little screen time.
At one point in the film Léolo walks in the street with his body-builder brother. They meet up with some dude who used to bully them, Léolo thinks his brotehr will kick the bully's ass but memories of childhood freeze him and he gets beaten up, crying like a big fat baby on the ground. There is something very touching about that moment, very primal, it kind of made the film way better for me.
Léolo doesnt really have a plot, its simply about the chracter's imagination. There are lots of good moments. There is a lot of naughty stuff as well that we could have gone without but its definately a good film.
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MCT:January 31, 2008Bon. Le moment tant attendu. Un 4. Pas si mal, non? En tout premier lieu, comme Mate le souligne si bien, il est difficile d'assimiler Léolo aux autres produits québécois sur le marché cinématographique tellement celui-ci semble se distinguer des autres. C'est vraiment de la haute voltige, du talent à l'état pur que de réaliser un film entièrement basé sur la narration, sur une poésie qui, ma foi, coupe brillamment le souffle tout en évitant d'être très hermétique, ce qui lui donne le mérite de s'adapter à la réalité québécois. Adapter la poésie à notre train-train quotidien, ça relève de l'impossible. Et pourtant, Lauzon l'a réussi à merveille, lui. Quant à la fin, tout simplement brutale, tout simplement chapeau. Elle donne vraiment froid dans le dos, et c'est évident que ça clôt une comédie noire à merveille.
Un film comme C.R.A.Z.Y. a le mérite de redessiner à la perfection les contours d'une époque dans laquelle nous n'avons pas eu la chance de vivre. Côté ambiance, il est évident que C.R.A.Z.Y. a atteint son but, mais le drame familial qui l'entoure, bien qu'incroyablement excellent, est dans la même lignée que bien d'autres films québécois (La rage de l'ange, Familia, Gaz bar blues, etc.) Seule chose, c'est qu'étant donné que l'ambiance torche, le drame familial est valorisé et peut-être même un tantinet surestimé. Tandis que, de son côté, le drame familial de Léolo s'élève par lui-même par son incongruité et se démarque, et de loin, des autres drames familiaux revus maintes et maintes fois par le cinéma québécois. Seulement, on est peut-être en droit de se demander si le fait que notre génération de cinématographes québécois créent des films qui reflètent parfaitement nos habitudes de vie n'avantage pas en quelque sorte un film comme Léolo. Car, en effet, les spectateurs seraient peut-être trop habitués à cette ambiance fidèle à la réalité, et lorsqu'on se retrouve confronté à un film comme Léolo, l'ambiance est si magique, si loufoque, si burlesque et si poignante, que le public place peut-être Léolo dès le départ sur un piédestal étant donné qu'il n'est pas comme les autres. Si l'on veut donc élire un gagnant entre Léolo et C.R.A.Z.Y., il ne suffit pas de se fier à l'appréciation et aux effets ressentis durant la représentation, mais bien à l'efficacité de l'oeuvre dans le domaine où elle se spécialise, soit l'ambiance québécoise pour le premier, et la comédie satirique pour le deuxième.
Enfin. Personnellement, c'est évident que je préfère Léolo à C.R.A.Z.Y., mais ça demeure là une opinion bien personnelle. Seule chose que je reproche au film, c'est que Lauzon a accordé trop d'importance à L'avallée des avallés (désolé pour les fautes), alors que le cinéma, habituellement, adaptations mises à part, possède le mérite d'être compris sans autres notions que celles de la vie. J'ai eu l'impression que bien des passages étaient basés, ou complétaient, le livre, et j'ai trouvé ça très dommage étant donné que j'ai dû apprécié l'oeuvre sans le livre. Enfin, je ne dirais peut-être pas la même chose si je l'avais lu, mais bon... -
MCT:January 28, 2008
A fantastic Canadian film, in both quality and content. Strange though, but in that lovely sort of way that draws you in. Basically it's the story of a highly intelligent boy growing up in a tenement in Montreal with his oddball, mostly insane, family, and the imaginary living dream world he creates for himself which is often hard to distinguish from reality. This is one of those poetic sort of films that are magical in a way, and hard to define, breathtaking at times, confusing at times, also - but ultimately rewarding. In any case, it`s a truly unique film that should be seen by an anyone with an appreciation for "off the beaten path" type films.
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MCT:January 2, 2008
Léolo (1993)
Directed by Jean-Claude Lauzon
Starring Maxime Collin, Ginette Reno, Gilbert Sicotte(voice)
Seen two times.
I always loved poetical movies. I truly felt in love with Ki-Duk Kim?s four seasons declaration of love. That one was visually poetic. I don?t know if it?s me but I can?t think of a lot of movie that use poetry in a narrative way. In fact, when I try to find some, there is only Wong Kar Wai?s 2046 coming to my mind. Well, Léolo does too. And it uses it perfectly.
Jean-Claude Lauzon?s second movie is about a young boy named Léo Lozeau (magnificent Maxime Collin), who is firmly thinking that his mother (scene stealer Ginette Reno) got pregnant when she fell on tomatoes sprinkled of Sicilian sperm. Yeah. Thus, he wants his dysfunctional family and all the people he knows to call him Leolo Lozone (to pronounce with an Italian accent).
Everybody thinks I?m French Canadian. Because I dream, that is not what I am. Because I dream, that is not what I am.
The entire movie is about this little boy dreaming of Italia and the beautiful Bianca, his neighbour. For those who love to watch a movie with a story, this one is not for you. Some would say that Léolo is slow paced and that there is no plot. It might be true. But these people do not have any imagination. In fact, Léolo is a unique tale about a little boy dreaming of escaping his dysfunctional family. He doesn?t want to be with them. Because he dreams, that is not what he is.
I often mention the atmosphere in movies. It is something really important for me and Léolo is the kind of film perfectly defining what is, for me, an authentic atmosphere. The movie is surrealistically and dramatically funny. It is hard for me to put words on what I think about this movie, because it simply magic. It was the same with movies like Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) which was a magical tale. So is Léolo.
I wrote earlier about the narration in this movie. The story is told by Gilbert Sicotte, a well-known French Canadian comedian. His voice fits perfectly with the tone of the movie, and Lauzon?s writing as well. In fact, the narration is based on the book L?Avalé des avalés, written by Réjean Ducharme. I haven?t read the book but I know that the script written by Lauzon the director is closely related to that book. I just don?t know how much close it is. What I know is that in the movie, Léolo finds the book in his house, and it is L?Avalé des avalés. We all know that anyone who love to read love to write, no? That is what he does. Thus, the narration we hear during the movie is Léolo?s writings. My only interrogation is that the quality of that narration is a level that a young kid wouldn?t be able to reach at that age. But that is not something we care about while watching and hearing that movie because it is just too amazing.
It only takes three words to write: Bianca, my love. I took the shortest way.
Léolo is played by newcomer Maxime Collin. He actually did an astonishing job, knowing that he is the main character and that he is in almost all the scenes of the movie. His mother is played by well-known singer Ginette Reno. At first, I didn?t know she was able to act. But she does. In overall, acting was great, except for the bodybuilder older brother which is actually quite bad. Nonetheless, there is a scene where he, even if he has big muscles, gets bullied by an average man. In that scene, the actor gets a nearly perfect acting. Plus, that scene shows us that Léolo is not only a dark humoured movie, it is, above all, a drama.
The first time I watched Léolo, there is nothing that I didn?t care about. It is the soundtrack. The original score is actually quite enjoyable, but there is the wonderful song sang by Tom Waits, Cold cold ground, that I can?t get out of my mind. I think it fits perfectly with the movie. The soundtrack also features a song from The Rolling Stones.
All things considered, Jean-Claude Lauzon?s second movie is a masterpiece. His debut film, Un zoo la nuit, was a good start, but he proved all his talent with Léolo, five or six years later. What is shocking is that Lauzon died in a plane crash with his girlfriend. As Krzystof Kieslowski and some other directors, he tragically died too young. It is sad, knowing that he could have brought to us so many other wonderful movies.
Well, I may be wrong.
Maybe it is better like that. Lauzon will stay the man who wrote and directed this mystical masterpiece and then disappear in a plane crash. Who knows. -
MCT:November 22, 2007Mon film québécois préféré. C'est un film poétique. Un film vrai. Le film ne démontre rien, il est tout simplement. Tout coule. Les scènes dures ne sont pas illustrées avec frioture mais avec la chaleur et le génie de Jean-Claude. Un artiste qui semble toujours s'être assumé dans un monde étrange. Entre l'authenticité et la folie.
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MCT:November 9, 2007
This is a film that's oddness is only matched by its sheer poetic beauty. Its nice to watch and offbeat movie that has a clear point of what its doing; and this did exactly that. I can easily recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a deep and complex film. Grows on you after viewing too. Simply put, its a must see for anyone aching for something unique... like a breath of fresh air.
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MCT:November 4, 2007
Un hymne à l'enfant qui se cherche à travers le rêve avec un grand R...
Parce que moi je rêve, je n'oublierai pas. -
MCT:October 30, 2007
Ce film est grandiose! Les personnages, l'histoire, la réalisation font que ce film est un des grands du Québec. Il a aussi marqué mon enfance/adolescence.
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MCT:September 23, 2007encore un autre film sur la vie de qq1 qui est dont pas chanceux.. c quand même un film ok mais ça devient vraiment gossant à la longue que les films québécois soient tous sur ce genre!
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MCT:July 15, 2007
I came across this movie one night while flipping channels - saw it on CBC channel. Only caught the last 40 minutes or so. It was not until many years later that I found this on video and was able to watch the entire film. What a craay coming of age film but one that I really enjoyed. This film is definitely not for the squeamish, and if you enjoy liver better skip the film as you may never enjoy it again. I loved the music from this film. i looked for years for the soundtrack - but have never found it.
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MCT:June 20, 2007This film had potential as an exploration of one child's escape from bleak surroundings, but in the end it digresses into a story about human nastiness. It is dark and cynical and the characters are rotten or twisted beyond recognition as human beings.
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MCT:June 4, 2007
An interesting movie about a boy's "coming of age", it's from Quebec and very weird.
It can run from sick to hilarious. (the 2 scenes with the liver bring to mind the contrast). -
MCT:March 26, 2007
NOT FOR EVERYONE. There's a heartfelt story here, but you have to sift through the madness. That's why it's one of my favorite films.
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MCT:October 7, 2006
Very poetic and even disturbing here and there. I like movies like this. Surprised to hear the Rolling Stones in there.
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MCT:August 30, 2006
Non-cookie-cutter type movie that has great acting and ingenious script. It got a little too strange towards the end though.
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MCT:May 18, 2006
Tout de ce film tient du magistral: l'interprétation, le rythme, le texte, la direction photo, la direction artistique, etc. Le ton à la fois rêveur et surtout humoristique tend à saisir un réalisme étrange, grossier et sincère. Même après plusieurs écoute, l'intensité reste intacte.
À voir absolument, un des meilleurs films québécois sinon le meilleur! -
MCT:May 10, 2006
Wonderfully done movie. Extremely artistic picture depicting a young boy growing up in an intellectually bankrupt Montreal suburb. Some of it doesn't really work-- like the keenly adult voice Leolo is given-- and the ending just sort of... happens, but all in all a wonderful display of filmmaking.
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