Summary
Drunken Birds (French: Les Oiseaux ivres) is a 2021 Canadian drama film directed by Ivan Grbovic who co-wrote with Sara Mishara.[1] The film stars Jorge Antonio Guerrero as Willy, a Mexican drug runner in a crime cartel who travels to Canada in search of his girlfriend Marlena (Yoshira Escárrega) after she disappears, and takes a job as a migrant worker on a farm in the Montérégie region.
| Drunken Birds | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| French | Les Oiseaux ivres |
| Directed by | Ivan Grbovic |
| Written by | Ivan Grbovic Sara Mishara |
| Produced by | Luc Déry Kim McCraw |
| Starring | Jorge Antonio Guerrero Hélène Florent Claude Legault Marine Johnson |
| Cinematography | Sara Mishara |
| Edited by | Arthur Tarnowski |
| Music by | Philippe Brault |
Production company | micro_scope |
| Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Languages |
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The film's cast also includes Hélène Florent, Claude Legault, Marine Johnson, Maxime Dumontier, Amaryllis Tremblay, Karl Walcott, Gilberto Barraza, and Normand D'Amour.
The film premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, in the Platform Prize program.[2] The film was digitally and theatrically released in Canada is on October 15, 2021, by Les Films Opale. It was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[3]
Synopsis edit
Marlena is the young wife of a powerful wealthy man in Mexico, Willy is her secret lover. Fearing the worst, the lovers will flee separately in the hopes of finding each other in a safer place. Willy suspects that Marlena is hiding in Montreal, so he escapes to Quebec where he is hired as a seasonal worker at the Bécotte Farm. While friendships are being forged between foreign workers on the farm, a gap is growing between the Bécotte family members. Willy, unknowingly, will arouse the desire in Julie, the wife of the owner. The situation will not be without consequences for the group - especially for her estranged teenage daughter Léa, who soon finds herself exploited after running away in search of freedom. Willy is accused of a crime he did not commit, which sends a ripple effect through the lives of all, leading to an eventual redemption.[4]
Cast edit
- Jorge Antonio Guerrero as Willy
- Hélène Florent as Julie
- Claude Legault as Richard
- Marine Johnson as Léa
- Gilberto Barazza as Storyteller
- Yoshira Escárrega as Marlena
- Amaryllis Tremblay as Lou
- Maxime Dumontier as Benji
- Karl Walcott as Formula One driver
- Normand D'Amour as Normand
- Jorge Martinez Colorado as Antonio
Reception edit
Critical response edit
Drunken Birds has an approval rating of 75% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews, and an average rating of 6.1/10.[5]
Jared Mobarak of The Film Stage gave the film a positive review writing, "Writer/director Ivan Grbovic and co-writer/cinematographer Sara Mishara seamlessly take us back and forth through time so the romance at the center of their Les oiseaux ivres [Drunken Birds] can unfold with mystery and anticipation."[6] Another positive review was written by Pat Mullen for That Shelf: "Exceptionally crafted with its feet firmly planted between two worlds, Drunken Birds represents the best that is happening in Canadian cinema right now. It challenges us to look at the landscape we love and wonder if it looks so golden from another perspective. Drunken Birds is the best film the TIFF Platform competition had to offer this year and a Canadian standout for the year overall."[7]
The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2021.[8]
Awards and nominations edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ André Duchesne, "Les oiseaux ivres d’Ivan Grbovic au TIFF". La Presse, August 11, 2021.
- ^ Pat Mullen, "TIFF Unveils Line-up for ‘Celebrating Alanis’ Retrospective". Point of View, August 11, 2021.
- ^ Victoria Ahearn (October 4, 2021). "Drunken Birds chosen as Canada's contender for international film Oscar". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ micro_scope. "Press Kit" (PDF). micro_scope. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-23.
- ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drunken_birds
- ^ Mobarak, Jared (September 19, 2021). "TIFF Review: Drunken Birds Centers on a Romance That Unfolds with Mystery and Style". The Film Stage. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ Mullen, Pat (September 18, 2021). "TIFF Platform 2021: Drunken Birds Flies High". That Shelf. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ Norman Wilner, "TIFF announces Canada’s Top Ten films of 2021" Archived 2021-12-06 at the Wayback Machine. Now, December 6, 2021.
- ^ "Le jury du 35e FICFA récompense les meilleurs films". Ici Radio-Canada Nouveau-Brunswick, November 18, 2021.
- ^ Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
- ^ Dana Gee, "The Power of the Dog, Night Raiders lead Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards nominations". Vancouver Sun, February 20, 2022.
- ^ François Lévesque, "Hélène Florent aux oiseaux au Gala Québec Cinéma". Le Devoir, June 5, 2022.
- ^ Maxime Demers, "Prix collégial du cinéma québécois : les finalistes dévoilés". Le Journal de Montréal, January 18, 2022.
External links edit
- Drunken Birds at IMDb
- Drunken Birds at micro_scope
