Comme le feu

A family travels into the hinterlands of Quebec for a holiday that reopens old wounds, culminating in various displays of uniquely masculine pettiness. Two old friends, screenwriter Albert (Paul Ahmarani) and director Blake (Arieh Worthalter), butt heads, each inducing aggressions both micro and macro. Meanwhile, ambiguous feelings seem to develop between Albert’s daughter Aliosha (Aurélia Arandi-Longpré) and his son’s friend Jeff (Noah Parker). Director Philippe Lesage has created an intimate epic, offering the viewer intricate personal details splayed across a broad canvas. Most of what we witness is from Jeff’s bemused point of view. He observes a world of which he is not a part, struggling to define himself in relation to two very different masculine modes: prerogative vs. resentment. COMME LE FEU is strikingly shot, using the specific challenges of the landscape—the disorienting darkness of the woods at night, or the dangerous allure of river rapids—as both a proving ground and a stark reminder of nature’s indifference to human folly. COMME LE FEU establishes Philippe Lesage as a leading light in Québécois cinema, arguably the heir apparent to Denys Arcand. 
(Michael Sicinski) 

In the presence of Philippe Lesage.

Philippe Lesage:  POURRONS-NOUS VIVRE ENSEMBLE? (2006), COMMENT SAVOIR SI LES PETITS POISSONS SONT HEUREUX? (2009), CE CŒUR QUI BAT (2010), LAYLOU (2012), LES DÉMONS (2015), COPENHAGUE A LOVE STORY (2016), GENÈSE (2018)