Vic + Flo Saw a Bear
- Director: Denis Côté
- Writer: Denis Côté
- Producer: Sylvain Corbeil; Nancy Grant
CGiii Comment
It may have won awards...but, it was lost on us.
Slooow...yet, beautifully filmed.
Considering the element of menace that supposedly runs throughout...the tone is subdued - practically comatose in places.
The direction is stylised, bordering on the contrived...and, the eccentricities seem to be included for the benefit of the director and the director alone...pity he ignored the glaring errors...or, perhaps, they were also eccentricities.
A bit more backstory would have helped bring these listless lesbian/bisexual lovers to life...and, the inclusion of the [gay, why gay?] parole officer whose menace inexplicably dissolves in front of our very eyes...again, an unnecessary eccentricity.
It's not a terrible film...but, it will leave you rather underwhelmed - and, not a bear in sight.
As for the award givers...did you see the same film?!?
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Winner 2013 Silver Bear (Alfred Bauer Prize) Berlin International Film Festival. Vic + Flow Saw a Bear is a darkly mysterious tale of lesbian two ex-cons, Victoria and Florence, trying to make a new life in the backwoods of Quebec. Seeking peace and quite, the couple the slowly begin to feel under siege as Vic's probation office keeps unexpectedly popping up and a strange woman in the neighborhood soon turns out to be an increasingly menacing shadow from Flo's past. With it's collection of complex and eccentric characters, unexpected plot twists and unsettling humor, director Denis Cote (Curling, Bestiaire) has created an original film that is as once traumatizing, uplifting, and utterly breathless.
Cast & Characters
Pierrette Robitaille as Victoria Champagne;
Romane Bohringer as Florence Richemont;
Marc-Andre Grondin as Guillaume Perreira-Leduc;
Marie Brassard as Marina St-Jean / Jackie;
Georges Molnar as Emile Champagne;
Olivier Aubin as Nicolas Smith;
Pier-Luc Funk as Charlot Smith;
Guy Thauvette as Yvon Champagne;
Ramon Cespedes as Jackie's Assistant;
Dany Boudreault as Go-Kart Driver