THE JOURNEY OF ÈVE SAINT-LOUIS @SXSW

The Journey (La Traversée) by director Ève Saint-Louis sums it up for us here on FERNTV at SXSW. Exploring the changes and expectations of the family institution in the film Soak derived many conclusions. It leads us to believe that change and an unstable future are difficult to deal with. Especially when it comes to moving parts at home. We saw through the lens of Martin Edralin in his film Islands. We discovered that the harsh winters of Toronto stunt a family’s culture. This leads us to the blissful appreciation of a frigid situation that sends a universal message in The Journey. Director Ève Saint-Louis shows through her filmmaking and acting that the little things make a difference.

Coming Home

The Journey stars director Eve Saint-Louis who plays Chantale. She is coming from a break in her studies from Paris where she has been living for a year. Her family in the rural countryside of Quebec is meeting up with her. She first sets off to get picked up from her mother at the Quebec City airport. Although, her estranged father, played by Claude Laroche, overrides this decision to do it himself. It’s the least that he can do as we learn that he is no longer the “man” of the family. The initial plan is for him to get Chantale at the airport and to her mother as quickly as possible.

Chantale and her father make a pitstop to one of the most popular restaurant chains in Quebec called St. Hubert. This is an opportunity for both of them to catch up. On the contrary, Chantale realizes that her father is farther from her than she thought. He’s old and cranky and shows his treatment of the waitress at the restaurant by being nit-picky and high maintenance. He’s not even enjoying his food. Chantale begins to realize that she has grown up from her time in her studies in Paris. Instead of that being celebrated by her father it is neglected. Her adulting does not seem to interest the old man.

The Drive to the Countryside

Their long drive to the countryside comes to a stop because her father no longer has the energy. They end up at her father’s house where she begins to start feeling that something is about to erupt between the two of them. When Chantale’s mother calls for her, you sense the hatred through his body language of her father. He starts to shoot intense derogatory nouns and remarks about her. This just shows that he is no longer welcome to the family and being childish about it. Someone hasn’t grown up but rather grown down.

The manner in which director Ève Saint-Louis builds this tension along the way is flawless. Especially against the backdrop of a harsh grey winter slippery road type of day. Driving along the roads into the countryside of Québec different during the winter. One becomes irritable and frustrated. The horror is the pitstop to her father’s house who becomes angry in the situation that he is in. It resonates with many to those who have been in eerie situations where possibly some form of abuse is coming.

With that said with this universal message, director Ève Saint-Louis sticks to the traditional Quebec style of storytelling with her own spin. The beauty of the Quebecois language holds up much emotion in many of the film’s scenes. The impression left especially if you are Canadian is that you are finally home and at ease in the beginning. But those mere seconds of bliss quickly become feelings of awkwardness and tension. This goes to show that sometimes home is not where the heart is. Sometimes it just needs to be left there. This is the journey that Eve Saint-Louis takes in this short film.

https://www.filmoptioninternational.com/the-journey