Lilies (film)

1996 Canadian film

Lilies

French| Les Feluettes
Directed by| John Greyson
Written by| Michel Marc Bouchard
Linda Gaboriau
Produced by| Robin Cass
Arnie Gelbart
Anna Stratton
Starring|

* Jason Cadieux
* Matthew Ferguson
* Danny Gilmore
* Brent Carver
* Rémy Girard

Cinematography| Daniel Jobin
Edited by| André Corriveau
Music by| Mychael Danna

Production
companies

Triptych Media
Galafilm Productions

Distributed by| Alliance Releasing

Release date

* 7 September 1996 (1996-09-07) (premiere at TIFF)

Running time

| 95 minutes
Country| Canada
Languages| English
French
Budget| $2,200,000 CAD
Box office| $301,548[1]

Lilies (French title: Les Feluettes) is a 1996 Canadian film directed by John Greyson.[2] It is an adaptation by Michel Marc Bouchard and Linda Gaboriau of Bouchard's own play Lilies. It depicts a play being performed in a prison by the inmates.

The film screened at numerous festivals, including Sundance, and received critical acclaim; it was nominated for 14 awards Genie Awards at the 17th ceremony, winning 4, including Best Picture.

## Plot summary

[edit]

### Expository narration

[edit]

Lilies is set in a Quebec prison in 1952. Jean Bilodeau (Marcel Sabourin), the local bishop, is brought to the prison to hear the confession of Simon Doucet (Aubert Pallascio), a dying inmate. But Doucet in fact has a very different revelation for Bilodeau: he has enlisted his fellow inmates to stage a play set in 1912, when Bilodeau and Doucet were childhood friends.

### The play within the film

[edit]

Most of the film consists of the play within the film, presented by the inmates for Bilodeau and Doucet. Because it is taking place within a prison, the female roles are portrayed by the male prisoners. The young Bilodeau and Simon are performed by younger inmates (Matthew Ferguson and Jason Cadieux).

The play dramatizes a period during Bilodeau and Simon's childhood in Roberval, Quebec, when they were both coming to terms with their homosexuality. Simon has a romantic relationship with Vallier (Danny Gilmore), while Bilodeau remains repressed and tries desperately to convince Simon to join the seminary with him. All three are involved in a school play dramatizing the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, with Simon in the lead role. The St. Sebastian play's homoerotic undertones contribute to Bilodeau's sexual awakening, which involves an unrequited love for Simon. Bilodeau recognizes the nature of the relationship between Simon and Vallier, and confronts them one afternoon after the rehearsal of the St. Sebastian play. Simon and Vallier attack and subdue Bilodeau, so that Simon can engage him in a derisively passionate kiss. In the middle of the kiss, Vallier's mother, the Countess de Tilly (Brent Carver) enters the arena, forcing Simon to break off the kiss and flee. Vallier's mother (who is slightly insane) is unperturbed at what she has seen, and has Vallier escort her to the arrival of a Parisian aristocrat arriving in a hot air balloon.

Simon's father is also at the arrival, where Vallier's mother unwittingly reveals to him that she saw his son passionately kissing Bilodeau. In a rage, Mr. Doucet finds Simon and brutally beats him, to the point where he must find medical attention for his wounds. He chooses to see a Parisian doctor staying at the hotel in town (to avoid the town doctor telling his business), and he meets Lydie-Anne (Alexander Chapman), a young Parisian baroness. Because of the beating, Simon renounces his love for Vallier and appears to fall in love with Lydie-Ann, eventually becoming engaged to her. However, Vallier's mother encourages Vallier to attend the engagement party and declare his love for Simon. At the party, it becomes apparent that Simon never stopped loving Vallier and was only using Lydie-Ann to pass as heterosexual. Because her feelings are hurt, Lydie-Ann reveals to Vallier's mother that her estranged husband is living happily in Paris with a new wife and child. She also tells her that she came to Roberval on the recommendation of Vallier's father, and while he mentioned structures and the landscape of the town, he never once spoke of the wife or child he left behind there.

After the party, Simon and Vallier meet for one last romantic encounter. Afterwards, Vallier's mother says that she will be going to Paris, and invites Simon and Vallier to see her off. Instead, she leads them to a place in the woods, where she lies down in a shallow grave and has Vallier strangle her to death. Bilodeau witnesses the murder, and is spurred to confess his love for Simon. When rejected, he sets fire to the room where Vallier and Simon are staying and locks the door, trapping Vallier and Simon. Bilodeau is remorseful and returns in time to drag Simon to safety, but leaves Vallier behind, falsely tells arriving policemen that Vallier is already dead. Vallier perishes in the flames.

### Conclusion

[edit]

The play reveals that Vallier's murder is the crime for which Simon Doucet was falsely arrested and convicted. Thus, the play was designed not as Doucet's confession of his sins, but a ploy to extract a confession of guilt from Bilodeau. Bilodeau asks Doucet to kill him, but Doucet refuses.

## Cast

[edit]

Actor  | Role

|

Brent Carver | Countess de Tilly
Marcel Sabourin | The Bishop
Aubert Pallascio | Simon Doucet (older)
Jason Cadieux | Young Simon
Matthew Ferguson | Young Bilodeau
Danny Gilmore | Vallier
Alexander Chapman | Lydie-Anne
Ian D. Clark | Chaplain / Father Saint Michel
Gary Farmer | Timothée
Robert Lalonde | The Baron
Rémy Girard | The Baroness
John Dunn-Hill | Warden
Paul-Patrice Charbonneau | Chauffeur, Simon's father, Mr. Doucet
Michel Marc Bouchard | Photographer
Khanh Hua
Benoît Lagrandeur
Pierre LeBlanc
Jean Lévesque
Antoine Jobin
Alain Gendreau
Simon Simpson
Eddy Rios
Martin Stone | Prison Ensemble

## Style

[edit]

In a 2017 interview with CBC Arts, Greyson described the film as a "strange Genet-inflected-via-Fellini fable".[3]

The play-within-the-film is sometimes shot in realistic settings, while other scenes explicitly take place in the prison chapel. Realist scenes segue into prison scenes through visible set changes. After a realist autumn scene, leaves are shown being removed from the chapel floor. The final lovemaking scene between Doucet and Vallier is presented in realist style, but fades into a prison scene when the boat in which the couple are having sex becomes a bathtub in the chapel.

Even in the realist scenes, however, female characters in the prison play are portrayed by the male actors portraying the prisoners.

The play's dialogue and acting are deliberately heightened according to stage, rather than film conventions.

## Awards

[edit]

Award  | Date of ceremony  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref(s)

|
|
|
|
|

Genie Awards | 1996 | Best Motion Picture | Robin Cass, Arnie Gelbart, Anna Stratton | Won  | [4]
Best Director | John Greyson | Nominated  | [5]
Best Actor | Jason Cadieux | Nominated  | [5]
Danny Gilmore | Nominated
Matthew Ferguson | Nominated
Best Supporting Actor | Alexander Chapman | Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay | Michel Marc Bouchard, Linda Gaboriau | Nominated
Best Art Direction/Production Design | Sandra Kybartas | Won  | [4]
Best Cinematography | Daniel Jobin | Nominated  | [5]
Best Costume Design | Linda Muir | Won  | [4]
Best Editing | André Corriveau | Nominated  | [5]
Best Original Score | Mychael Danna | Nominated
Best Overall Sound | Don Cohen, Keith Elliott, Scott Purdy, Scott Shepherd, Don White  | Won  | [4]
Best Sound Editing | Janice Ierulli, Donna Powell, Tony Currie, Diane Boucher, Jane Tattersall, Richard Harkness  | Nominated  | [5]
Locarno International Film Festival | 1996  | Golden Leopard | John Greyson  | Nominated  | [6]
Montreal World Film Festival | 1996  | Best Canadian Film  | Won  | [7]
Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival | 1997  | Audience Favorite  | Won  |
L.A. Outfest | 1997  | Outstanding Narrative Feature  | Won  | [8]
GLAAD Media Awards | 1998  | Outstanding Film, Limited Release | Nominated  |

## Streaming

[edit]

In 2017 the film was released online on the Canada Media Fund Encore+ YouTube channel.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Lilies – Box Office Mojo Retrieved 2010-05-27.
2. ^ "Lilies". Variety, September 9, 1996.
3. ^ Peter Knegt, "Before 'Moonlight': 20 years ago, Canada crowned its own first LGBTQ best picture". CBC Arts, March 10, 2017.
4. ^ a b c d Armstrong, Mary Ellen (2 December 1996). "Crash, Lilies top Genies". Playback. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
5. ^ a b c d e Playback Staff (4 November 1996). "Special Report: The 1996 Genie Awards: Lilies extends men's emotional range". Playback. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
6. ^ "Lilies à Locarno". Le Devoir, July 30, 1996.
7. ^ "British film a surprise winner at Montreal festival". Vancouver Sun, September 4, 1996.
8. ^ "“Lilies”, “Broadway Damage”, “Fire”; Take Top OUTFEST Prizes". IndieWire, July 22, 1997.

## External links

[edit]

* Lilies at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by John Greyson

* Pissoir (1988)
* The Making of Monsters (1991)
* Zero Patience (1993)
* Lilies (1996)
* Uncut (1997)
* The Law of Enclosures (2000)
* Proteus (2003)
* Fig Trees (2009)
* International Dawn Chorus Day (2021)

* v
* t
* e

Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture

Canadian Film Awards
1949–1975: Film of the Year|

* The Loon's Necklace (1949)
* Newfoundland Scene (1952)
* Tit-Coq (1953)
* The Seasons (1954)
* The Stratford Adventure (1955)
* City of Gold (1958)
* Universe (1961)
* Lonely Boy (1963)
* Pour la suite du monde (1964)
* The Mills of the Gods: Viet Nam (1966)
* Warrendale (1967)
* A Place to Stand (1968)
* The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar (1969)
* To See or Not to See (1970)
* The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
* Les Ordres (1975)

Canadian Film Awards
1964–1978: Feature Film|

* À tout prendre (1964)
* The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1965)
* Astataïon, ou Le Festin des morts (1966)
* Warrendale (1967)
* The Ernie Game (1968)
* No Award (1969)
* Goin' Down the Road (1970)
* Mon oncle Antoine (1971)
* Wedding in White (1972)
* Slipstream (1973)
* No Award (1974)
* Les Ordres (1975)
* Lies My Father Told Me (1976)
* J.A. Martin photographe (1977)
* The Silent Partner (1978)

Genie Awards
1980–2011|

* The Changeling (1980)
* Les Bons débarras (1981)
* Ticket to Heaven (1982)
* The Grey Fox (1983)
* The Terry Fox Story (1984)
* The Bay Boy (1985)
* My American Cousin (1986)
* Le Déclin de l'empire américain (1987)
* Un Zoo la nuit (1988)
* Dead Ringers (1989)
* Jésus de Montréal (1990)
* Black Robe (1991)
* Naked Lunch (1992)
* Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
* Exotica (1994)
* Le Confessionnal (1995)
* Lilies (1996)
* The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
* The Red Violin (1998)
* Sunshine (1999)
* Maelström (2000)
* Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
* Ararat (2002)
* Les Invasions barbares (2003)
* Les Triplettes de Belleville (2004)
* C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
* Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006)
* Away from Her (2007)
* Passchendaele (2008)
* Polytechnique (2009)
* Incendies (2010)
* Monsieur Lazhar (2011)

Canadian Screen Awards
2012–present|

* Rebelle (2012)
* Gabrielle (2013)
* Mommy (2014)
* Room (2015)
* Juste la fin du monde (2016)
* Maudie (2017)
* Une colonie (2018)
* Antigone (2019)
* Beans (2020)
* Scarborough (2021)
* Brother (2022)
* BlackBerry (2023)
* The Apprentice (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film

* Tyler (1978)
* Arthur Miller on Home Ground (1979)
* It Can't Be Winter, We Haven't Had Summer Yet (1980)
* The Plouffe Family (1981)
* The Grey Fox (1982)
* The Tin Flute (1983)
* A Woman in Transit (1984)
* Pale Face (1985)
* Sitting in Limbo (1986)
* Night Zoo (1987)
* Obsessed (1988)
* Looking for Eternity (1989)
* An Imaginary Tale (1990)
* The Savage Woman (1991)
* Phantom Life (1992)
* The Sex of the Stars (1993)
* The Wind from Wyoming (1994)
* Water Child (1995)
* Lilies (1996)
* The Caretaker's Lodge (1997)
* 2 Seconds (1998)
* Memories Unlocked (1999)
* Maelström (2000)
* Tar Angel (2001)
* Chaos and Desire (2002)
* Gaz Bar Blues (2003)
* The Five of Us (2004)
* Kamataki (2005)
* The Chinese Botanist's Daughters (2006)
* Surviving My Mother (2007)
* The Necessities of Life (2008)
* A Cargo to Africa (2009)
* Silence Lies (2010)
* Coteau rouge (2011)
* Karakara (2012)
* Another House (2013)
* Sweeping Forward (2014)

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