MARRIED WITH FICTION: BRAULT & GROULX’S POLITICAL EVOLUTION OF LE DIRECT

MADISON BROWN At the onset of John Grierson’s goal to create a Cana- — dian national cinema solely through the documentary Pour la suite du monde (1963) mode he stipulated three roles films must aspire to: Entre le mer et l’eau douce (1964) Le chat dans le sac (1964) either to edify, clarify, or educate (Froger 53). In effect, such films were aiding federation, developing less of a national identity than a hegemonic ideal. In contrast to Grierson, Francois Jost contends that all audio-visual documents have the inherent intention either to survey, inform, or make a work of art (Froger 133). Though these intentions overlap, Grierson and the NFB disregarded the creative aspect that Jost highlights. Michel Brault and Gilles Groulx, Québécois filmmakers at the forefront of le direct, preserved the stylistic and narrative elements of documentary while making their forays into fiction. Brault employed documentary tactics in his fictional works to create a more intimate and accessible films. Conversely, Groulx integrated fiction into the documen- tary form to express through his characters the mes- sages and ideas he wanted to convey. Highly identifiable markers emerged from their use of distinctly Québécois archetypes and familiar political circumstances. Giving way to an inherent specularity between films (which rely on viewers to have their values reflected) and viewers (who rely on films to form a national identity), Brault and Groulx blazed the trail for political comment at the nexus of Quebec’s identity crisis and the Québécois need for direct works of art. 1 Understanding the political and historical cir- cumstances of cinema direct (le direct) is necessary for Madison Brown is an undergraduate student in unpacking its evolutionary implications. Struggling to her fourth year at The Cinema Studies Insttute, University of Toronto.

MADISON BROWN 13 determine an identity, especially in relation to Canada, Quebec has contested numer- in Montreal. Instead, Le chat dans le sac is a fictional film, taking the form of a doc- ous attempts at its homogenization. Though subordination has undoubtedly proven umentary, but ultimately critiquing the very search and struggle of identifying in a discouraging, Bill Marshall maintains that any national struggle “must be predicated rapidly modernizing Quebec. Brault’s film, on the other hand, was denied by the NFB on provisional and not full or unified notions of identity” (34). The jigsaw effect of because the characters’ portrayals were too “sordid” (Loiselle 89). Consequently, Brault this imperative sheds light on the ideological compromise between the NFB and its produced his film in the private sector with the help of fellow Québécois artists. filmmakers. After the Great Darkness, numerous social institutions became federal- Le chat dans le sac prioritizes le direct, with elements of fiction tying the narrative ized. This progress was beneficial for Quebec, and modernization resonated with its together. The loose backdrop of Claude and Barbara living out the end of their rela- Anglo-Canadian counterparts. However, many Quebeckers saw the rapid change as tionship is upstaged by the interview sequences, improvisation, and handheld cam- an attempt to have Quebec conform (Loiselle 68). This threat was not a strictly social era work that are signature of le direct. The emotional affect that the characters elicit or economic force. With the NFB’s Candid Eye series, for example, Anglo-Canadians is reactionary—to each other, to the political climate, and to each individually —as proffered a fictional cinema that took the form of a documentary (Burnett 30), employ- opposed to a narrative action that drives the plot forward. The plot is chronological ing young Québécois filmmakers-to-be as technicians. With the federal government nonetheless, if marked by an episodic structure. Intermittent sequences of Claude profiting from these films as pseudo-propaganda, an interesting parallel can be drawn and Barbara in bed together accentuate the film’s episodic nature. These sequences to the Duplessis era and the proselytizing Catholic films of Albert Tesier and Maurice are notably more abstract than the rest of the film, employing chiaroscuro and close- Proulx. Instead of being screened in parish halls and schools, however, these docu- ups that obscure the intimacy, but concede their mutual passion. In contrast to the mentaries were entering citizens’ homes through the intimate medium of television. predominant documentary style exercised throughout, the cinematography of Le chat Out of distaste and a fear of political circumvention, Gilles Groulx and many of his is more characteristic of fiction than le direct, and the sporadic use of these sequences Québécois contemporaries began making documentaries under the guise of fiction accentuates the calculated artifice of the film. (Burnett 30). Direct cinema had inherent fictional aspects, as demonstrated in Pour Entre le mer et l’eau douce emphasizes fiction, using distinguished effects from la suite du monde (1963) by Michel Brault, Marcel Carrière and Pierre Perrault, where le direct to create a more realistic effect. The camera is not addressed directly, though the guiding of subjects sculpted observational and ethnographic documentary tac- self-reflexivity is very much present. In a sequence where Claude is getting ready for a tics. Staging certain quotidian elements offered the directors an opportunity for the date, a door shuts between him and the camera each time he changes his outfit. Repre- camera’s perusal without directing the subjects in an unnatural way. The result in senting the inside/outside binary, it is evident that the camera is not invited to omni- Pour la suite du monde is seamless; the participation of the filmmakers, coupled with science. In fact, the camera’s utter otherness is elucidated in an interview sequence the coercion of activity, generated a sense of immediacy and truth, without feeling with Claude and his brother in the street. Evoking the perspective of looking through contrived. Brault attributed this effect to his desire to record the “dialectical relations a viewfinder, the use of a mask suggests that the viewer is actually behind the camera. between the performed and the lived” (Loiselle 93). No longer did Brault and his coun- This interactive exploit allows the viewer a sense of participation, while reinforcing terparts need to choose between the “utilitarian concept of art”, which would fit into the camera lens as the very barrier to ‘direct’ intimacy. Grierson’s agenda, and the aesthetic approach that “affirms the absence of an artistic Brault and Groulx’s two modes of conflation between le direct and fiction are over- gesture’s finality” (Froger 51). The difference between the “art of documentary” and lapping, but their departures from one another offer a fertile ground for discussing “documentary art” had been delineated, and the latter’s triumph propelled Québécois their individual impetuses and outcomes. The need for spontaneity stemmed from a filmmakers toward more politically personal production. growing chagrin with the modernization and simultaneous federalization of Quebec. Both produced in 1964, Gilles Groulx’s Le chat dans le sac and Michel Brault’s Entre In the midst of the Quiet Revolution, political comments were either “too quiet or too le mer et l’eau douce made significant statements to the NFB regarding censorship, revolutionary” (Loiselle 72). In regards to the production of film, fiction best typifies and the Board’s refusal to allow creative (and political) vision. Groulx was approached the quiet, whereas documentary typifies the revolutionary. Since these characteristics to make a film that would appear as a part of a documentary series depicting winter are not entirely independent of one another, their synthesis creates a potent discourse.

14 CAMÉRA STYLO MADISON BROWN 15 In response to growing political unease and the dominion of the NFB, Brault and ticular subtext. Groulx made their political statements by cinematically capturing everyday people Cinema, combining multiple mediums for its purpose and end, provides an end- and events in a way that evoked their own circumstance (Burnett 31). By giving their less number of possibilities for articulation; as Froger poignantly notes, “the subject actors free reign within character restraints and very loose plots, Brault and Groulx itself determines its form of expression” (52). Quebec has a multifaceted and colourful had them relay the discontent and political irritation the directors themselves were cultural array, so it is no wonder that films bridging le direct and fiction relied on not permitted to express within the NFB. Bill Marshall posits that hegemony, like that collectivity. Each artistic medium adding to an apogee of meaning, with members of of the NFB’s dominant discourse, does not succeed in its regimentation by forcefully the cast and crews including well-known musicians—such as Claude Gauthier, theatre imposing its ideology, but rather by “complex processes of negotiation and consent” actors, television stars, and others (Loiselle 100). The potency of these versatile stars (49). At the whims of the NFB’s authority, Brault and Groulx were left in a compro- coming together to speak their dissatisfaction was twofold: it legitimized the issue mising position. In order to “negotiate consent”, they were required to use distinctly for the elite, while effectively reaching the masses. Through similar means and—ulti- Quebecois archetypes to represent their larger ambition, to critique the present state mately—with the same goal, Brault’s Entre le mer resonated with the critique of Que- of affairs in defining a national identity. In favour of Quebec’s independence, Froger bec’s modernization, while Groulx’s Le chat commented on federalization and the lack proposes that the directors played “cache-cache” (132), hiding their political ideas in of Québécois independence. While these national issues are not completely autono- the characters’ dialogue. Illustrating Froger’s point, Groulx recruits narrative and dia- mous, they are also not entirely combinable. The idea of a national identity lies at the logic techniques to hide his agenda; in contrast, Brault expresses himself stylistically. heart of both issues, while the directors’ complementary frameworks rejuvenate the Opting to produce their films in opposition to the NFB, Brault and Groulx effectively controversial question. instilled their personal politics into the films while retaining their auteurist license. Québécois archetypes are highlighted in the two films, and allegorically speak In Entre le mer Brault makes explicit reference to what he has hidden by audibly edit- to the tensions of founding a nation in the midst of modernization. In Entre le mer, ing out profanity. The image track is untouched, making it clear that a degree of con- Claude represents the traditional. He moves to Montreal from his hometown, Saint- viction is inherent, but something has been purposely been left out. This omission Irénée, this country-city trope is a rich theme in Québécois culture. Following the resonates with Bill Marshall’s concept of “accumulated silences” (48). The poignancy Duplessis era, Claude’s low-paying jobs—and enduring unemployment—highlight of Quebec’s identity crisis is predicated greatly on what is unsaid. In this way, the use the economic straits of Quebeckers in the midst of attempts to federalize the province. of music in Entre le mer is also pertinent to filling in these blanks. The film’s score is Remnants of Catholic guilt are magnified as Claude attends confession after an eve- written and performed by Claude Gauthier, who plays Claude in the film, and is himself ning of sexual exploits with an unknown woman. The large emphasis he places on his a prolific Québécois musician. His character in Entre le mer is also a musician, making family—staying with his brother in the city, as well as his return home—also resonates it indeterminable at times whether the score is non-diegetic, or diegetic and asynchro- with the traditionalist values of Quebec. In contrast to Claude, Genevieve represents nous. The film’s world and the world in which it was made are thus blurred, impli- modernity. She has an excessive work ethic, is born of rural roots but is well adjusted cating the viewer in the ambiguity. In Le chat, Claude searches fruitlessly for work, to the city, bears no mention of family ties, and is easily attracted to “the new”. Regard- with each opportunity, Claude passively berates the employer and the job at hand. Not less of their desire for one another, Claude and Genevieve do not end up together due allowing himself to evaluate the position through experience, he continues hoping to their fundamental differences and aspirations—nor could they. In keeping them that the right job will arrive, allowing him philosophical integrity. These encounters apart, Brault suggests the delicacy of successfully merging two essentially opposing provide textual evidence of Groulx veiling his resistance to working for the NFB, an ideas. This complication, however, does not suggest that they will not or should not be institution that will not support his creative and political ideas. The dialogue of Le merged. Rather, the incompatibility seems a cautionary tale, a warning of potentially chat is otherwise explicit; Claude expresses Groulx’s disappointment and listlessness, insoluble difference. while Barbara articulates a naïve desire for union. The national and cinematic climes, In Groulx’s Le chat, the Québécois archetypes represented by Claude and Bar- however, gave the directors freedom within them, permitting the emergence of a par- bara are more politically subversive and individualistic. At the beginning of the film,

16 CAMÉRA STYLO MADISON BROWN 17 Claude and Barbara introduce themselves in interview format. While there is no inter- view of what Ricardo Gonzales refers to as the “historic horizon” (73). Abreast of mod- vention on the part of the camera or the cameraman, the movement—or lack thereof— ernization, 1960s Quebec can be predominantly characterized by unrest and alterity. answers often to histrionic displays of self-expression. Barbara first introduces herself Hiding political discourse in the dialogue of characters is based on what Bill Marshall as a Libra. The camera is constantly following and reframing Barbara as she moves calls “a relationship of lack” (37). Not only does the political message run the risk of about the apartment, highlighting her fluidity and desire to travel. Claude, sitting being obscured, it creates a distance between the viewer and the film. This distance, tight against a white wall, accrues little to no camera movement, as he reveals himself however, provides the specular relationship with an enriching perspective. Marshall to be a “loner”. He describes himself as a political philosopher who feels alienated suggests “a new kind of image which offers a receptivity to the multiple, the diverse, from his peers. The cinematographic adaptability sets up the differences between and the non-identical” as grounds for stylistic and narrative fragmentation (28). The the pair. Their apartment is characterized by verisimilitude, locating the story in an privileging of cryptic text had great implications on both viewership, and the viewers’ eerily familiar diegesis. While opposites attract and complement each other—even identification with the texts. Québécois audiences, especially those contemporaneous a devout separatist and an enterprising actress—Claude and Barbara also do not end with the films’ production, would recognize the otherness of the characters and iden- up together. Representative of the torrid relationship between political Quebec and tify with the instances of difference. apathetic Anglo-Canada, the readjustment after their affair leaves them different than William Worringer suggests that making art is an enterprise of consolation (Froger they were before it, but ultimately unmoved and incomplete. These traits, being arche- 212), which entails a consoler and the consoled. Considering the active discourses of typal, do not speak solely of the individuals; entire lifestyles and merging cultures are Groulx and Brault, their relationships to specularity become self-reflexive. Instead of given a voice. responding to the audience’s needs, the two filmmakers demand that the audience The propaganda of an image is certainly not the only way of advancing commen- respond to theirs. Since the directors are consoled by spectatorship, their films pre- tary; its aestheticism, however, is capable of urging spectators into direct engagement suppose the viewers. In art, the natural presupposition of an audience becomes much (Froger 52). As a result, cinema has the capacity to integrate sound and image for the more complicated within a political context. effective transmission of politics. Deliberately spreading a censored and one-sided As Froger points out, the implication of a viewer abolishes the distance that is portrait of Quebec, the NFB’s propaganda-like films infiltrated Quebeckers’ homes. expected in the reception of a political discourse (130). Directly addressing the audi- Grierson championed the “social” documentary of the NFB as the ideal vehicle for a ence—as Groulx does, through implicating the viewer in the diegesis by formally national cinematic discourse. Groulx and Brault agreed with his choice of vehicle, addressing them with “vous”—then seems a plea for attentiveness. However, crying though they had set out on an entirely different journey. Grierson imagined a type of for attention countervails the very effect of hiding their political agenda. It is no won- cinema that represented the people whilst excluding the filmmakers’ egos (Froger 55). der that the directors require consolation, as the medium itself opposes their message. Illuminating their struggle for independence, Groulx and Brault chose the medium of Still this inversion of intent—though seeming to impede expression—does not con- documentary to instead expose their egos. stitute a failed articulation. The films’ ultimate goal is to neutralize the documentary Due to Quebec’s motley nature, Brault and Groulx offered differing and comple- discourse in order to replace it with community dialogue (Froger 132). Justifying the mentary discourses for their audiences to identify with. Distinct as they are, cultural specular ambiguity in this way, Groulx and Brault are relieved of the pressure to elu- identity and political identity are inextricably in dialogue with each other. In both cidate their political precedent. Given a loose script, like the actors in the films, this Entre le mer and Le chat, cultural identity is juxtaposed with political identity in order mitigation allows the viewers to respond and “console” each other. to articulate their differences. While Entre le mer focuses on the effects of rapid mod- Shifting political power and rapid modernization perpetually rework the question ernization on Québécois culture, Le chat points to the political implications. To reduce of Quebec’s identity. This dynamism heralds Marshall’s assertion that founding cine- the tendency of viewing Canadian national identity as a formally political one, Froger matic fictions initiate “founding problems and ambivalences”, as opposed to a distinct argues that it is imperative that culture be separated from politics (59). Their potencies conclusiveness (37). In 1967, though predating Entre le mer et l’eau douce and Le chat do not wane when separated; instead, teasing them out individually offers a panoramic dans le sac by three years, Tom Daly suggested that the federal government and the

18 CAMÉRA STYLO MADISON BROWN 19 NFB’s authority aimed to express the French question to the English (Froger 64). Brault and Groulx critiqued this very touting of hegemonic filmmaking for overlooking their intentions; not only did they attempt to articulate an answer rather than a question, but they were articulating it for a Québécois audience. The two filmmakers instigated a cinematic framework for Quebeckers to relate to, by synthesizing the immediacy of documentary and the insights of fiction. By nodding to the past and motioning toward the future, Brault and Groulx laid the groundwork for the question of Québécois iden- tity to be explored by future generations.

Works Cited

Entre le mer et l’eau douce. Dir. Michel Brault. Le chat dans le sac. Dir. Gilles Groulx. Canada. Canada. 1964. 1964. DVD

Burnet, Ron. “The Crisis of the Documentary and Loiselle, André. Cinema as History: Michel Brault the Fictonal Film in Quebec”, CineTracts 4:4 and Modern Quebec. Toronto: TIFF, 2007. (no. 16, Winter 1982): 29-35. Print.

Froger, Marion. La cinema à l’épreuve de la com- Marshall, Bill. Quebec Natonal Cinema. munauté. Montreal: Les Presses de l’Université Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, de Montréal, 2006. Print. 2001. Print.

Gonzalez, Ricardo. La Pollinisaton De La Fic- ton Avec Le Documentaire Dans Les Annees Soixante Et Soixante-Dix: Quatre Pays, Quatre Films, Quatre Approches Distnctes. Concordia University (Canada), 2007. Canada: ProQuest. Web. 30 May 2013.

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