J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Camion; le Truck Driver


 from a review of the  Quebec film Camion ("Truck") at Cinemablographer
“Je me souviens.” The famous Québécois slogan, etched by Eugène-Étienne Taché into the stone of Parliament below Quebec’s coat of arms, roughly translates to “I remember.” The phrase has an ambiguous meaning for Anglophone Canadians—or it at least exists in the sense that we can grasp it, but never fully comprehend it—but it celebrates in a simple three word phrase a rich culture that exists within a larger nation. To remember means to keep something alive.

"The three-word slogan creates one of the most striking compositions in Rafaël Ouellet’s beautiful film Camion (which translates as Truck). “Je me souviens,” in fact, offers the opening—perhaps establishing—shot of the film. The film begins with a close-up of the tail end of a big rig truck. Off-centre on the truck’s rear, which spans the scope of the film’s wide frame, is a licence plate that reads RCO701L. Under this number, and partly covered in mud, is Quebec’s subtitle. This truck, it seems, carries a big load of memories and some sense of itself is being obscured..."

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