C.R.A.Z.Y. 2005

C.R.A.Z.Y. 2005
14 | 2h 7min | Comedy , Drama | 13 July 2006 (Hungary)
Storyline:
Born Christmas Day 1960, Zac Beaulieu is the fourth of five sons of Gervais and Laurianne Beaulieu. Zac feels somewhat disconnected to his brothers, all of whom are different from each other. They include the bookworm Christian who is the eldest, the dumb jock Antoine who is third, and the youngest Yvan. But Zac has the most contempt for his second eldest brother, the shiftless druggie Raymond. To his devout Catholic mother, Zac is her miracle son, both for being born the same day as Jesus Christ (a fact which Zac has always hated), and because a Tupperware-selling mystic once told her that he has the power to heal. Laurianne has always coddled Zac, the two who have a special if unspoken bond. But Zac wants more to please his father, who wants more than anything in his sons that they grow up to be man's men and not sissies. As Zac goes through his mid-teens to early twenties, Zac isn't sure if he can live up to the ideals of either his mother or especially his father. A young man with stress-induced asthma, Zac just wants to be what he considers normal, which includes getting rid of his asthma. But more importantly, he wants to get rid of the underlying thoughts that he has and which most going through puberty have, but that for him are becoming more prevalent as he grows older.
User review:
This is an outstanding film. Quebec cinema is a hidden gem in North America and C.R.A.Z.Y. shines like a diamond among the lumps of coal put out by the big name studios in the U.S. Jean-Marc Vallée (director) proves that you do not need mega-bucks to make a quality film (C.R.A.Z.Y. cost 7 million dollars to produce). The acting is outstanding and it must have been a pleasure for the cast to work with such a great script and story. To call this a coming of age story or a coming out story would be selling it short. This is a film about family dynamics and it works on so many levels it is unfair and impossible to pigeon hole this film. Being an ex-patriot ( I am from the U.S. but now live in Montreal) I hope this films gets some play in the U.S. as it is too good to be missed. If it does not wait for it on IFC, Sundance or on DVD and see it then. Bravo to Jean-Marc Vallée and the cast and crew of this film…Outstanding work!
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Writers: François Boulay, Jean-Marc Vallée
Stars: Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx