Orders

Michel Brault's 1974 Canadian film follows ordinary people arrested without charge during the state of emergency in Quebec in 1970. After a minister was kidnapped, emergency powers legislation came into force and hundreds were held for weeks. The film rests on real testimony. At the start the actors turn to camera and introduce the people they will play; that choice states at the outset that the narrative is fiction and underlines the reality of what is said. Brault comes from the documentary tradition, and the handheld camera, natural sound and plain editing follow from it. The film moves between black and white and colour. It won the best director prize at Cannes. Who it's for: those who like Canadian cinema and narratives about political repression. Who it's not for: viewers without the context of the period; the film does not explain the events and shows their consequences directly.