"Mon Oncle Antoine" is a coming of age film set in a very rural and grim portion of French-speaking Canada. It gives you some insight into the dreadful bleakness of this sort of setting and the film consists of a couple days in the lives of two families--one soon about to experience a tragedy and the other consisting of an aunt and uncle who run a combination general store and funeral parlor.
At the Toronto International Film Festival, every decade a panel of critics have voted on what they consider to the best Canadian film of all time. Well, "Mon Oncle Antoice" has won this distinction for three straight decades--winning over such brilliant films as "Barbarian Invasions" and "Jesus of Montreal"! Well, after seeing "Mon Oncle Antoine" I can't help but think that there is sometimes a HUGE gulf between what the critics and the public love, as I have no idea whatsoever why this film has received this distinction, as it's a very ordinary film. If I didn't know better, I'd think that Canadian films are terrible--but this isn't true. The other two films I listed above are exceptional--and "Barbarian Invasions" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film--and richly deserved it. But as for "Mon Oncle Antoine", the film seemed exceptionally slow paced and, at times, a bit pointless and unrelentingly grim.
Before you just assume I hate foreign films or have no tolerance for art films, I should mention that I have reviewed close to a couple thousand such films. It's just that this one simply did not appeal to me and it just seems very overrated. Just my two-cents worth.
At the Toronto International Film Festival, every decade a panel of critics have voted on what they consider to the best Canadian film of all time. Well, "Mon Oncle Antoice" has won this distinction for three straight decades--winning over such brilliant films as "Barbarian Invasions" and "Jesus of Montreal"! Well, after seeing "Mon Oncle Antoine" I can't help but think that there is sometimes a HUGE gulf between what the critics and the public love, as I have no idea whatsoever why this film has received this distinction, as it's a very ordinary film. If I didn't know better, I'd think that Canadian films are terrible--but this isn't true. The other two films I listed above are exceptional--and "Barbarian Invasions" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film--and richly deserved it. But as for "Mon Oncle Antoine", the film seemed exceptionally slow paced and, at times, a bit pointless and unrelentingly grim.
Before you just assume I hate foreign films or have no tolerance for art films, I should mention that I have reviewed close to a couple thousand such films. It's just that this one simply did not appeal to me and it just seems very overrated. Just my two-cents worth.