Mon Oncle Antoine

Claude Jutra’s sweeping portrait of village life in Quebec during the late 1940s is set in a community dominated by its asbestos mine and foreshadows a strike that many cite as a seminal event in reorienting Quebec politics — openly roiling in 1971 when the film was made. The focus, however, is on teenage Benoit working at Christmastime in the center of village life at his uncle’s general store. Confronting sex and death, he observes those around him first as an innocent adolescent and then as a knowing adult. Subtle, realistic, and shaded with a blend of nostalgia and menace, Mon Oncle Antoine has been called one of the greatest Canadian films of all time.

In French with English subtitles. Not rated, but viewer discretion is advised. 104 min.

Screenings: February 3 & 4 at 10:00 a.m.

Admission: $9 for adults, $5 for students.

Part of the Cinema Explorations series.