by BERTIE MANDELBLATT

Brothers Serge and Jean Gagné’s new feature, Barbaloune, is an eccentric, wildly playful visual collage deeply rooted in the sensibilities of ’60s and ’70s experimental film. And that’s not just a matter of someone being referential—thanks to their student loans, these two independent Saguenay-based filmmakers completed their first film, Saison cinquième, in ’68, and have made 13 films since then, all in the same vein.

Many of the attributes of classic experimentalism are present, as well as what can only be explained as a severe case of autobiographical nostalgia. The story concerns an obsessive young filmmaker, Johnny D. (Patrick Robert), trying to complete his first feature despite a severe lack of funding. This film-within-a-film is a disjointed love story that takes place at the North Pole amongst ice floes and the howling of sled dogs, and stars Johnny D.’s girlfriend Sylvie, who also composes the piano music for the inner film.

Johnny’s entourage, who alternately encourage and undermine his progress, includes a sinister accountant, a radical student leader in his 50s, a professor of Greek who directs scandalous theatre productions, and a totally nutty quasi-Native American devil character. Barbaloune functions more or less like a love story, as well. Johnny D. abandons Sylvie for the seductive Barbara, the pianist who interprets Sylvie’s compositions, threatening his first love. In the tradition of low-budget, auteurist cinema, all of the actors are friends of the Gagné brothers—Sylvie and Barbara are played by Jean Gagné’s daughters, Kathia and Valentine Cambron.

Describing the pretty banal plot and the deliberately flat characters doesn’t do this odd film justice, though. The brothers Gagné are obviously exploring a number of only semi-related themes—metaphors of exploration, flying and the Côte Nord abound, along with lots of piano-playing.

The strongest moments of Barbaloune are wrapped up in the jerky, collage-style filmmaking. If this doesn’t intrigue you, the film’s 118 minutes will pass slowly indeed. :

Barbaloune opens Friday, Nov. 15

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