The dialogues are a hoot, and the one who steals the show is Irdens Exantus, who plays Souverain Pascal, a young student from Haiti who comes to assist Guibord during his campaign. Great comedy.
An expertly shot and lovingly crafted piece of whimsy that doesn't quite resonate with the vitality of Monsieur Lazar. Here, we just never really care for the characters. It starts out expertly paced and the score is perfectly matched but comes to a halt in many of the dryer political scenes. 3 stars
It's so great to see a french-canadian film that just nails its casting, all across the board, and reverses completely its cinema's exotic voyeurism. If Philippe Falardeau becomes Quebec's Nanni Moretti, I have no problem with that.
The potential absurdity of Canadian politics is well satirized in this homespun entertainment from director Falardeau. The land of three level government, native rights, ministries and powder keg road blocks may have never been quite portrayed like this on screen. In the end its a comedy but is unlikely to have international legs. Quebec star Huard is very good but its Irdens Exantus as the Haitian intern who shines.