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Mon Oncle Antoine Movie Review

Mon Oncle Antoine is a 1971 Canadian drama film directed by Claude Jutra. It’s a rather overrated film that is charming, but slight in storytelling.

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“Damn this lousy clutch!“

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Set in cold rural Quebec at Christmas time, we follow the coming of age of a young boy and the life of his family which owns the town’s general store and undertaking business. This is a basic slice of life story that isn’t particularly immersive nor is it sophisticated in any way. Yes, it offers us a glimpse into the life of rural Quebec back in the forties, but it’s more charming than engaging.

The characterization is solid, though not great. The main characters are well realized and the acting is quite good, but I personally did not care for these people, thus I found most of the movie rather unappealing.

There are some exceptions. The snow-covered first half was wonderful in certain scenes where we could see children playing in snow. The imagery was beautiful there and the whole atmosphere of winter joy and family fun was just very endearing. This is by far the best part of the movie and it’s a shame that the rest turned into a drama with no more endearing moments to be found.

Mon Oncle Antoine is particularly well shot with gorgeous winter scenery and some stunning wide shots being employed. The acting is as I have said above also pretty good and the score is lovely as well. But the direction from Jutra is far from fantastic and the pacing is all off, being this very slow, very uninvolving period piece that is regarded as the greatest Canadian film ever made, but I personally disagree with that sentiment.

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