Le Confessionnal

Ah, BAMcinematek. Thank you for being only a short 20 minute walk from my apartment and having the most engaging shows! Last night I saw Le Confessionnal with a brief introduction by the French Canadian director Robert Lepage. Set in Quebec City, Le Confessionnal cuts seamlessly between the present time and 1952. The plot line for the former involves Pierre Lamontagne's return home for his fathers funeral and to track down his drug-using adopted brother. Scenes from this story line interweave gracefully with the same family in 1952 and their struggle to deal with with the unexpected pregnancy of Mrs. Lamontagne's 16 year old sister, Rachel. Alfred Hitchcock's visit to town to film I Confess coincides with, and actually mirrors, Rachel's story and is filmed inside the church where Rachel worked until the revelation of her pregnancy. In Hitchcock's film a priest is accused of a crime and is unable to disclose the name of the culprit because it was revealed to him inside the confessional. In Le Confessionnal, a young priest is expelled from the church because everybody assumes he is the father of Rachel's child.

Even more interesting then the story (though the story is fantastic!) is how the film was made visually. There is an amazing overhead shot that follows Pierre through a labyrinthian bathhouse as he searches for his brother. The voyeuristic aspect of this sequence reminds me of some of Ms. Aubrie Costello's work. We are privy to the covert activities going on inside the cramped rectangular cells below. There is the beautiful metaphoric progression of Pierre painting and repainting a wall in his parents house because the outlines of the photos that used to hang there continue to permeate. The color red is a motif that returns again and again in thoughtful ways.

This was Lepage's first film. During his introduction to the movie he said most of the people involved had a theater background so there was a lot of excitement and freshness that came into the creating of the film. He also said that he was finished making films because he didn't like the process of it. He is still, however, involved in theater direction and currently has a show, Lipsynch, as part of BAM's 2009 Next Wave Festival. As a testament to Lepage's unconventional way, this performance is an 8 hour and 30 minute marathon with 4 intermissions and a 45 minute dinner break! Now that's commitment!