| | Present Day (Cult revival) | | --- | --- | | Largely ignored in France; Quebec critics were divided — some called it "pretentious" (Le Devoir), others praised its audacity (Cinéma Québec). | Rediscovered via a 2022 4K restoration by Cinémathèque québécoise. Now discussed alongside The Brood and The Mysterious Stranger as dark 80s Canuck classics. | | Box office: Limited to 15 prints across Canada. | Streaming: Rare; available via Criterion Channel’s "Forgotten Auteurs" series (2024) and occasional archival prints. | | No major awards; Denis Forest was nominated for a Genie for Best Actor (lost to Gordon Pinsent). | Forest’s performance is now considered a lost masterpiece of obsessive acting. |
According to major databases like AlloCiné , there are no standard DVD or VOD release dates listed, making it a "lost gem" for many collectors.
1987 was a pivotal year for maritime photography. It marked the end of an era where lighthouses were manned by solitary keepers living in isolation. Guichard’s series from this year serves as a high-quality historical record of these lonely outposts just before modern automation took over completely. The high resolution of the large-format film captures the texture of the stone and the terrifying power of the water in a way that digital photography often struggles to replicate.
⚠️ Many circulating copies (YouTube, public domain torrents) are sourced from a degraded VHS master — muddy, cropped, and missing the original stereo mix.
Here’s a strong feature suggestion for a release or edition of focusing on high quality:
, the narrative follows the extraordinary journey of an old man and a teenage boy. Their lives become deeply intertwined as they navigate themes of life and death in a setting far removed from the ocean one might expect for a "whale" story. Key Story Elements The Journey