Love in the Time of Civil War (2014) Director: Rodrigue Jean
Writers: Ron Ladd (screenplay), Ron Ladd
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Language: French
Duration: 120 min
Year: 2014
Stars: Ana Christina Alva, Catherine-Audrey Lachapelle, Alexandre Landry
Love in the Time of Civil War (L’amour au temps de la guerre civile) tells the story of the fairly grubby and unglamorous life of Alex (played by Alexandre Landry) – a young gay guy living in Montreal.
Directed by Quebec filmmaker Rodrigue Jean, this is a movie that celebrates the gritty realism of everyday life in a big city where people do whatever they have to do in order to get by.
Landry is convincing as the confused and directionless young, gay guy who lurches from one drug-fuelled encounter to the next. However it’s hard to feel much sympathy for any of the characters – they’re a fairly unlikeable lot.
This is a story that won’t give you many laughs – it is a bleak insight into a world that you don’t really want to be part of. It does however shine a light into the spiral of despair that drug addiction can create.
Observational film-making with a message.
