Underplayed Gems

Ésimésac (2012)

Ésimésac poster
Directed by
Luc Picard
Genre
drama film
Country
Canada
Runtime
1h 40m
Rating
5.8 of 10 from 10 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

In a small Quebec village struck by hard times, a young man who casts no shadow pushes for a community garden while a blacksmith pushes for a railroad. The story follows their clash and the town's struggle to find a way forward.

quirkywhimsicalgentleearthyfable-likefolksyhopeful

What happens

Ésimésac is a 2012 Canadian fantasy drama film, directed by Luc Picard. Although an unofficial sequel to the 2008 film Babine, unlike the earlier film Ésimésac was not directly based on Fred Pellerin's previously published stories; instead, the film's screenplay placed some of Pellerin's established characters in a new original story. The film stars Nicola-Frank Vachon as Ésimésac Gélinas, a young but physically strong man whose distinguishing trait is that he does not cast a shadow. He convinces the village of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton to plant and maintain a community garden after an economic crisis has left many of the townspeople hungry, but finds himself in conflict with village blacksmith Riopel's (Gildor Roy) plan to focus on building tracks for a railroad. The film's cast also includes Picard as Toussaint Brodeur, Sophie Nélisse as Marie Gélinas, Marie-Chantal Perron as Jeannette Brodeur, Marie Brassard as Madame Gélinas, Maude Laurendeau as Lurette Riopelle, René Richard Cyr as Méo Bellemare, Alain Sauvage as Le Curé Flambant, Isabel Richer as the Witch, Pierre Collin as Lorenzo Deziel, and Denis Trudel as Hubert. The film received five Prix Jutra nominations at the 13th Jutra Awards in 2013, for Best Supporting Actor (Roy), Best Makeup (Kathryn Casault), Best Costume Design (Carmen Alie), Best Score (Michel Corriveau) and Best Hairstyling (Denis Parent). Alie won the award for costume design. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.