Genesis

Philippe Lesage's 2019 Quebec film describes the shock of first love through three young people. Guillaume, at boarding school, refuses to hide his love for a male classmate, while his stepsister Charlotte struggles with the idea of an open relationship. The film runs those two lines in parallel and then moves unexpectedly to a third, much younger couple. Lesage uses long takes and unbroken scenes; a dance or a dinner table runs for minutes and the tension comes from that duration itself. Théodore Pellerin's performance carries fragility and aggression at once. The tonal shift in the final section was argued over: for some viewers an evasion, for others the most honest part of the film. Who it's for: viewers who like Quebec cinema, coming-of-age stories and the aesthetics of the long take. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding sexual violence, or who will find a runtime past two and a half hours and a slow pace wearing.