Saint-Narcisse (film)

Saint-Narcisse
Film poster
Directed byBruce LaBruce
Written byMartin Girard
Bruce LaBruce
Produced byNicolas Comeau
Paul Scherzer
StarringFélix-Antoine Duval
Tania Kontoyanni
Alexandra Petrachuck
Andreas Apergis
CinematographyMichel La Veaux
Edited byHubert Hayaud
Music byChristophe Lamarche-Ledoux
Production
companies
1976 Productions
Six Island Productions
Distributed byBest Friend Forever
Raven Banner Entertainment
Release date
  • September 2020 (2020-09) (Venice)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
French
Budget$2 million[1]

Saint-Narcisse is a 2020 Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by Bruce LaBruce.[2] Set in Quebec in 1972, the film stars Félix-Antoine Duval as Dominic and Daniel, a pair of identical twins who were separated at birth and did not previously know of each other's existence, but who fall in love and begin an incestuous relationship.[3]

The cast also includes Tania Kontoyanni, Alexandra Petrachuck, Andreas Apergis and Angèle Coutu.

Production

The film was produced by 1976 Productions and Six Island Productions.[3] It had financial backing from CBC Films, Telefilm, and SODEC.[4]

Release

The film premiered in the Venice Days stream at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.[2] It will be distributed by Best Friend Forever internationally, and by Northern Banner Entertainment (a part of Raven Banner Entertainment)[5] and AZ Films in Canada.[6]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 24 critics' reviews are positive.[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[8]

On The Guardian, Phuong Le rated it 3/5 stars writing that "Saint-Narcisse is a welcome blast of subversive naughtiness, proving that a film can tackle social taboos while refusing to brand itself with facile markers of respectability."[9] Wendy Ide of The Observer rated it 2/5 stars describing the film as "a bit too self-involved to be much fun for anyone else."[10]

On Film Threat, Bradley Gibson wrote that "director-writer Bruce LaBruce has long been famous as the master of Canadian 'queercore' cinema, and he has achieved in Saint-Narcisse his magnum opus."[11] Teo Bugbee of The New York Times described the film as "a handsomely produced film with sincere performances, lush cinematography and a classical score."[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bruce LaBruce: "Mi enfoque es trabajar con el porno y usar el porno como una herramienta política"".
  2. ^ a b Nick Vivarelli, "Venice Days to Premiere Bruce LaBruce’s ‘Saint-Narcisse,’ Chile’s ‘My Tender Matador,’ Mati Diop Short". Variety, July 23, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Elsa Keslassy, "Bruce LaBruce’s Queer Comedy ‘Saint-Narcisse’ Acquired by Best Friend Forever". Variety, June 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Bruce LaBruce’s Venice Giornate degli Autori closer ‘Saint-Narcisse’ finds Canadian home (exclusive)". Screen International, July 29, 2020.
  5. ^ "Northern Banner Releasing Picks Up Bruce Labruce’s Saint-Narcisse for Canada" Archived 2020-08-12 at the Wayback Machine. Gat PR, July 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Brock Thiessen, "Bruce LaBruce's 'Saint-Narcisse' Lands Distribution Deal". Exclaim!, June 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "Saint-Narcisse". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  8. ^ "Saint-Narcisse". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  9. ^ "Saint-Narcisse review – sex and subversion in family immorality tale". The Guardian. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  10. ^ "Saint-Narcisse review – witches, incest and self-pleasure". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  11. ^ "Saint–Narcisse". Film Threat. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  12. ^ "Saint-Narcisse". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2025.