Underplayed Gems

Now or Never (1998)

Now or Never poster
Original title
Aujourd'hui ou jamais
Directed by
Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Genre
drama film
Country
Canada
Runtime
1h 46m
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 6 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A middle aged man who owns a small aviation company has not flown a plane since his friend died in a crash years ago. On the day he resolves to fly again, unexpected events and his estranged father's sudden return get in the way.

contemplativebittersweetslow-pacedwistfulunderstatedintrospectivegrounded

What happens

Now or Never (French: Aujourd'hui ou jamais) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Jean Pierre Lefebvre and released in 1998. The third and final film in a trilogy with Don't Let It Kill You (Il ne faut pas mourir pour ça) in 1967 and The Old Country Where Rimbaud Died (Le Vieux pays où Rimbaud est mort) in 1977, the film updates the story of Abel Gagné (Marcel Sabourin) in his middle age. In the film, Abel Gagné has been working for many years as the owner of a small aviation company, but has not personally flown a plane since the death of his friend in a plane crash 15 years earlier. On the day he decides to finally fly again, however, various complications crop up to interfere with his plan, including the return of his estranged father Napoléon (Claude Blanchard) whom he has not seen in 50 years. Lefebvre described the trilogy's themes as being about family relationships, with Don't Let It Kill You as addressing the mother, The Old Country Where Rimbaud Died as addressing ancestors, and Now or Never addressing the father. The film's cast also includes Julie Ménard as Monique, the daughter of Abel's dead friend; Jean-Pierre Ronfard as Abel's business partner; and Micheline Lanctôt as Arlette. The film premiered in the Perspective Canada program at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received a Genie Award nomination for Best Original Song (Daniel Lavoie and Claude Gauthier for "Est-ce si loin Québec") at the 19th Genie Awards in 1999. The film received three nominations at the 1st Jutra Awards the same year, for Best Actor (Sabourin), Best Supporting Actor (Blanchard) and Best Supporting Actress (Lanctôt). All three films in the trilogy were screened at the 2016 Festival du nouveau cinéma as a tribute program to Lefebvre. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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