The Salesman

Selected for Sundance, the finely controlled debut feature of Chicoutimi-based writer-director Sébastien Pilote impresses with its exceptional performances, sensitive portrayal of small-town life, and compelling portrait of the current economic malaise. Gilbert Sicotte is superb as titular character Marcel Levesque, top salesman at a car dealership in a small Quebec community. A lonely widower, Marcel is past retirement age but lives for his job; his only interests outside work are the daughter and grandson he dotes on. The town itself is facing desperate times: the local mill has been shuttered for 240 days and may be closed permanently. Marcel’s life is about to change suddenly and immeasurably. “One terrific film ... Veteran Quebec actor Sicotte was very good in Continental, un film sans fusil, but that’s nothing compared to his performance here” (Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette). “Impeccably acted, poignant, and nuanced, this assured feature gets significant assists from Michel La Veaux’s wintry cinematography and a score rooted in traditional Quebecois folk sounds” (Dennis Harvey, Variety). Colour, 35mm, in French with English subtitles. 107 mins.