Lost Song
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRodrigue Jean
Written byRodrigue Jean
Produced byRodrigue Jean
François Landry
StarringSuzie LeBlanc
Patrick Goyette
Ginette Morin
Marilou Longpré Pilon
Louise Turcot
CinematographyMathieu Laverdière
Edited byMathieu Bouchard-Malo
Production
company
Transmar Films
Release date
  • September 6, 2008 (2008-09-06) (TIFF)
Running time
102 minutes[1]
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

Lost Song is a 2008 drama film by Canadian director Rodrigue Jean. The film focuses on a couple's struggle with postpartum depression. It won the Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

After the birth of their firstborn baby, Pierre and Élisabeth drive to the country to stay with his mother. The still-unnamed baby is restless, refuses to breastfeed and is having trouble sleeping. When Pierre must return to work, Élisabeth is left alone with the baby. Perplexed as to what to do, she leaves the baby in the care of her overly attentive mother-in-law Louise. Spending time with teenaged neighbor Naomi, Élisabeth finds comfort in the girl's friendship. As the pressure mounts to baptize the baby, Élisabeth considers taking a desperate action.

Cast

Reception

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Lost Song has an approval rating of 67% based on 6 critics' reviews.[2]

Brian D. Johnson of Maclean's wrote, "This story of a woman’s quiet descent into postpartum depression at a summer cottage in Quebec is...'a perfect marriage of character and landscape.' And as a mediation on dappled lake light and addled psychology, it’s beautifully composed, both austere and lyrical. However, I found it slow, morally schematic and dramatically slack."[3]

The film was selected as one of Canada's Top Ten Films for 2008.[4] Damon D’Oliveira, a member of the Toronto International Film Festival Group which compiled the list, said, "The beauty of Rodrigue Jean's Lost Song is in its simplicity. He has crafted a spare and uncompromising film – rife with humanity – about first-time parents grappling with the mounting pressures of caring for a newborn. Gracefully understated performances creep up and deliver a gut punch at the film's unsettling climax."[5]

Awards

At the Toronto International Film Festival, Lost Song won the award for Best Canadian Feature Film.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Lost Song". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Lost Song". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  3. ^ Johnson, Brian D. (26 February 2009). "Home Alone in Quebec". Maclean's. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Adoration, Fifty Dead Men, Before Tomorrow among Canada's Top Ten". Screen Daily. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Lost Song". Canada's Top Ten. Archived from the original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Suzie LeBlanc". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 February 2023.

External links

Rodrigue Jean
Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film
Categories