Gymnasia (Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski, 2019)

I found myself in that gymnasium indeed, which was lightened by a discrete window until they threw me on the stage, alone, and against my will. I begin to look desperately for help, as the feeling I get when I watch a virtual reality film is similar to the one I get during an episode of sleep paralysis. The lady finally arrives. I believe in fate, except for when I write. I am comforted for a moment right before I almost get a heart attack when the young deceased boy appears next to me, staring at me in the eyes for a long time! After a few minutes of enjoying the singing lesson I am invited to participate in, black comes to me, and I end up hungry for more once again. Although it was too short, this film is a real jewel on every level: the story, screenplay, mise-en-scène, art, emotions, and even acting! I give it four stars.

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2000-2012: Sixth Art and Movement

It is only when I viewed it again several years later that I noticed something interesting. In the world we now live in, I believe many people would blame Delphine for appropriating First Nations’ culture if they watched today the number LES INDIENS, in which the mise-en-scène and costumes would appear to them not only wrong, but above all humiliating, especially since the choreography ends up with a gun shot after which the dancers stop moving! More ironically, this choreography is immediately followed by that of the COWBOYS! I had mentioned this to Delphine when she was visiting Montreal recently, but she didn’t pay attention to that too much since her choreographies, she says, were representing America. That anecdote was also mentioned in one of my written exams for the course Cinéma des différences taught by Michèle Garneau at Université de Montréal, in which the concept of the « Indien inventé » was studied.

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