Name: Tout ce que tu possèdes
Genre: Drama
Released: 2012-11-02
Duration: 1 h 31 min
Rating: 6.4
Cast: Patrick Drolet, Willia Ferland-Tanguay, Isabelle Vincent

SPOILER ALERT: INTERPRETATION FOLLOWS

This film is slow and subtle. Ostensibly a character study, the film is really an allegory for Quebec—it's inward, alienated present, its relations to the rest of Canada, its sad and difficult past, and most important, its painful recognition that its choices threaten to destroy any chance it might have at a future.

I particularly liked the lead actor. Taciturn and lumbering, Patrick Drolet embodies wasted potential. Sensitive in his work but farouche in company, Drolet conveys as much through omission as he does through action—the emotion he feels but refuses to express, the poetry he imagines but cannot write, the decisions he understands but fails to take. Émond's direction is everything he is not.

The film also alludes cleverly to literature. Balzac's "Lost Illusions" is the most obvious parallel as a story of squandered talent, but I also caught references to Racine's "Phèdre" (who won't dirty her hands) and Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister" (who slowly comes to acknowledge his responsibilities). In this line, Émond is the Turgenev of Quebec: critical in analysis but generous in sympathy.

French-language cinema, whether in France, Québec, or other Francophone regions, explores cultural identity, social change, and the tension between the individual and society. French cinema is not only celebrated for its intellectual experimentation and auteur traditions, but also its success in mainstream comedy, romance, and commercial entertainment. In Québec, films often focus on questions of language, belonging, and community within a distinct cultural landscape.

Jean-Pierre Léaud in The 400 Blows (1959)

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

A Quebec City university lecturer abandons his academic career to translate the poetry of Edward Edward Stachura.

Patrick Drolet in Tout ce que tu possèdes (2012)

Association Coopérative des Productions Audio-Visuelles (ACPAV)

Société de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles (SODEC)

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Gilles Renaud and Patrick Drolet in Tout ce que tu possèdes (2012)

Tout ce que tu possèdes

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