The Dismantling – Sébastien Pilote
Section: Critics’ Week
Buzz: Wholly unassuming, as most Québécois films tend to be outside of Quebec, Sébastien Pilote made perhaps the best Canadian film of 2011 with his strong debut The Salesman. A small chorus responded to it, in the shape of a Grand Jury Prize at the Bombay International Film Festival and a spot on that year’s Canada’s Top Ten (probably the only film that year to earn a collective “Huh!?” upon its announcement).
The Gist: Gaby raises lambs on his farm, the Gagnon & Sons farm. Except that he doesn’t have a son. He has two daughters he has raised like princesses and who live far away, in the big city. One day, his older daughter asks him for a loan to save her from losing her home. Gaby, whose sense of paternal duty exceeds all reason, chooses to sell off his farm.