Size counts

>> Too many actors almost spoil the plot in En vacances

by SIOBHÀN O'CONNOR

En vacances is a very big movie. Not in the way that billion-dollar-budget Hollywood blockbusters are big, but Belgian director Yves Hanchar certainly covers a lot of ground with his latest feature. By its numbers alone--the film spans 10 years, three families and has 11 main characters--En vacances is impressive.

That said, juggling these kinds of numbers has its inevitable pitfalls, some more forgivable than others.

The film begins in 1990 where three sun-drenched families (men in itty-bitty Speedos, women in oversized T-shirts) meet up by chance at the beach and build a humongous sand fort. They laugh and cuddle, chase each other along shorelines, share lavish meals and make a time capsule that's not to be opened until 2000. Of course it's not all sunshine and lollipops for very long, and we realize the sand fort is a less-than-subtle metaphor for the strength of their bonds--all of which are put to the test throughout the following decade when they meet up each summer.

With all their dirty laundry hung out on the line, the three families converge in the summer of 2000 to read their time-capsule memoirs aloud. The rewind/flash-forward sequences reveal that every one of them is fucked up and hard-done-by--something that gets really grating, really quick. It's one thing to learn that one of the dads is a violent drunk and that another is having a hard time getting over his wife's sudden death. But throw in a daughter who hates daddy, a gambling addict, an elective mute who doesn't get the girl, some inter-generational sex and it all begins to feel too soap-operatic for its own good. While I have no problem with bleak subject matter, it's frustrating that between the 11 of them not one could be capable of any fun whatsoever.

Because of the magnitude of its scope, enjoyment of a film like this depends largely on the actors. Luckily, Hanchar has found an excellent cast. The great Luc Picard, an actor who's made a career of his ability to play jerky but sympathetic men, stands out as the widower dad of the mute. His performance is textured and complex, never overacted or hammy. Local starlet Jessica Paré is also great in her small but pivotal role.

En vacances opens Friday, March 9