Weekly round-up

Swinging singles and trouble with tradition

by MARK SLUTSKY

We live in a special place, we truly do. You don’t have to look very far for a cultural “only in Quebec” moment—not as long as Belle et Bum is on TV every night—but a quick glance at the poster for Cruising Bar 2, with Michel Côté incarnating the four protagonists, is all that would suffice for even the most diehard Canadian nationalist to admit that this is undeniably a distinct society.

1989’s Cruising Bar was a satirical look at the singles scene, with Côté playing four emblematic characters: swinging stud Gérard, self-obsessed yuppie Jean-Jacques, rocker doofus Patrice and perpetual loser Serge.

In the sequel, Côté and director Robert Ménard have the four confronting mid-life crises that force them back onto a changed singles landscape. Côté, a familiar face who recently won acclaim as the father in C.R.A.Z.Y, does an admirable job with the multiple roles, disappearing into each with aplomb.

The level of humour here is several steps below lowbrow. This can be a good thing—as Patrice, Côté gets laughs merely with his facial expressions, à la Amy Sedaris in Strangers With Candy—but the unrelentingly lowest-common-denominator gags are a matter of taste.

After the screening, one of my esteemed colleagues—a 30-something anglo, I might add—praised the way the film brought back happy memories of watching the original as a kid. If you share these warm feelings, the sequel will surely bring them back. Otherwise, it merely belongs on the endless list of Quebec cultural curiosities.

The first feature from Malian director Salif Traoré is both a human drama and a meditation on the ethical issues that arise when traditional lifestyles clash with modern ways. Zanga (Fili Traoré) returns to his village after years spent in the city. His goal is twofold: to help the village modernize their water system and to find out the identity of his father.

TRIBAL TRIBULATIONS:
Faro, la reine des eaux

As it happens, the river that nourishes the village has been showing strange movements. The village elders attribute this to the anger of Faro, the river spirit, at the arrival of a bastard son. As Zanga tries to help the village while sleuthing out his father, he runs into walls of superstition, tradition and tribal politics, all of which conveniently reinforce the village leaders’ patriarchal power over their fellow villagers.

Like other recent African films such as Bamako and Rêves de poussière, this unfolds at a languid, unhurried pace, allowing for a complex and subtle portrait of its setting. Traoré ably weaves together a multi-character narrative that paints an intriguing picture of rural African life, helped with poignant performances from the large cast.

While we’ve all seen films that simplistically portray similar themes in tones of “traditional ways good, modernization bad,” Traoré captures the depth and wisdom of traditions while sharply criticizing how they can be exploited to keep people powerless.

But this political angle aside, Faro’s dramatic impact and unique narrative style make it worth checking out, and Traoré a filmmaker to keep an eye on.

Both films open this
Friday, June 27

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