Orders (1974 film)

1974 Canadian film

Les Ordres

Directed by| Michel Brault
Written by| Michel Brault
Produced by| Guy Dufaux
Bernard Lalonde
Claude Godbout
Starring| Jean Lapointe
Hélène Loiselle
Guy Provost
Claude Gauthier
Louise Forestier
Cinematography| Michel Brault
François Protat
Edited by| Yves Dion

Production
company

Productions Prisma

Release date

* September 27, 1974 (1974-09-27)

Running time

| 109 minutes
Country| Canada
Language| French
Budget| $250,000
Box office| $500,000

Orders (French: Les Ordres; known in the United States as: Orderers) is a 1974 Quebec historical drama film about the incarceration of innocent civilians during the 1970 October Crisis following the War Measures Act enacted by the Canadian government of Pierre Trudeau. It is the second film by director Michel Brault. It features entertainer and Senator Jean Lapointe.

The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 48th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

## Plot

[edit]

In October 1970, following terrorist acts and demands by the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), the Canadian government adopted the War Measures Act to restore law and order. The Act overrode fundamental rights and privileges enumerated in common law and in the Canadian Bill of Rights. This measure enabled the arbitrary arrest of more than 450 people, against whom no charges were ever laid. Some were held as many as 21 days.

The film tells the story of five of incarcerated civilians. The film is scripted, but is inspired by interviews with actual prisoners held during the events.

The film's style is inspired by the Quebec school of Cinéma vérité. It is a docufiction.

## Cast

[edit]

* Hélène Loiselle as Marie Boudreau
* Jean Lapointe as Clermont Boudreau
* Guy Provost as Dr. Jean-Marie Beauchemin
* Claude Gauthier as Richard Lavoie
* Louise Forestier as Claudette Dusseault
* Louise Pratte as Louise Boudreau
* Martine Pratte as Martine Boudreau
* Monique Pratte as Monique Boudreau
* Amulette Garneau as Mrs. Thibault, The Neighbour
* Louise Latraverse as Claire Beauchemin
* Sophie Clément as Ginette Lavoie
* Esther Auger as Esther
* Claire Richard as Mrs. Vezina
* J. Léo Gagnon as The Grocer
* José Rettino as The Foreman

## Production

[edit]

Orders had a budget of $250,000 (equivalent to $1,664,195 in 2023).[1] The prison scenes were shot in colour while the rest of the film was shot in black-and-white.[2]

## Release

[edit]

Orders grossed $500,000 (equivalent to $2,998,092 in 2023) during its theatrical run.[1]

## Awards

[edit]

It shared a Cannes Film Festival Award in 1975 and four Canadian Film Awards (predecessor of the Genie Awards) the same year. It was also selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 48th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[3] The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[4]

* 1975 Cannes Film Festival, won for Best Director[5] (Michel Brault, tied with Costa Gavras for Section spéciale)
* 1975 Cannes Film Festival, nominated for Golden Palm (Michel Brault)
* 1975 Canadian Film Awards, won for Best Feature Film (Claude Godbout and Bernard Lalonde)
* 1975 Canadian Film Awards, won for Film of the Year (Claude Godbout and Bernard Lalonde)
* 1975 Canadian Film Awards, won for Best Original Script (Michel Brault)
* 1975 Canadian Film Awards, won for Best Direction (Michel Brault)
* The Toronto International Film Festival ranked it in the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time four times, in 1984, 1993, 2004 and 2015.[6]

## See also

[edit]

* Docufiction
* List of docufiction films
* List of Quebec films
* Cinema of Quebec
* Culture of Quebec
* Quebec independence movement
* History of Quebec
* List of submissions to the 48th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
* List of Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Walz 2002, p. 77.
2. ^ Walz 2002, p. 89.
3. ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
4. ^ "Cannes Classics 2015". Cannes Film Festival. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
5. ^ "Awards 1975 : Competition". Festival de Cannes (International Film Festival). Retrieved 2017-02-20.
6. ^ "Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time Archived July 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine," The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2012, URL accessed 2 May 2015.

## Works cited

[edit]

* Walz, Eugene, ed. (2002). Canada’s Best Features: Critical essays on 15 Canadian films. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-94-012-0014-1.

## External links

[edit]

* Canada’s Ten Best film surveys
* Canadian Film Encyclopedia
* Les Ordres at IMDb

* 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
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* e

Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

1971—1999|

* Mon oncle Antoine (1971)
* The True Nature of Bernadette (1972)
* Les Ordres (1975)
* J.A. Martin Photographer (1977)
* A Scream from Silence (1979)
* Good Riddance (1980)
* The Plouffe Family (1981)
* Wild Flowers (1982)
* The Tin Flute (1983)
* Sonatine (1984)
* Jacques and November (1985)
* The Decline of the American Empire (1986)
* Night Zoo (1987)
* The Revolving Doors (1988)
* Jesus of Montreal (1989)
* An Imaginary Tale (1990)
* A Bullet in the Head (1991)
* Léolo (1992)
* The Sex of the Stars (1993)
* My Friend Max (1994)
* The Confessional (1995)
* Not Me! (1996)
* Cosmos (1997)
* August 32nd on Earth (1998)
* Set Me Free (1999)

2000—present|

* Maelström (2000)
* Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
* Soft Shell Man (2002)
* The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
* Far Side of the Moon (2004)
* C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
* Water (2006)
* Days of Darkness (2007)
* The Necessities of Life (2008)
* I Killed My Mother (2009)
* Incendies (2010)
* Monsieur Lazhar (2011)
* War Witch (2012)
* Gabrielle (2013)
* Mommy (2014)
* Felix and Meira (2015)
* It's Only the End of the World (2016)
* Hochelaga, Land of Souls (2017)
* Family First (2018)
* Antigone (2019)
* 14 Days, 12 Nights (2020)
* Drunken Birds (2021)
* Eternal Spring (2022)
* Rojek (2023)
* Universal Language (2024)

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