TU DORS NICOLE (NICOLE IS SLEEPING) (Canada 2014) ****
Directed by Stephane LaFleur

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TU DORS NICOLE is a 35mm shot black and white small budget feature with no stars and in which nothing much happens.  It also happens to be the most delightful experience and surprise of a Canadian feature this year.

To Quebec director LaFleur’s  (A FILM WITHOUT GUNS) credit, his characters are likeable which helps his film - unlike those of Xavier Dolan’s (the recent MOMMY) but just as complicated in one way of another.

The central character is a 20-something Quebecoise, Nicole (Julianne Cote) who lives at her parents and has nothing much to do every day.  By Choice. She never completes her parents’ list of chores and works at a dead end job in a charity clothing shop.  In the film, she is seen mostly hanging around with her best friend, Veronique (Catherine St-Laurent).

Other characters in the picture include Nicole’s older brother, a quick-tempered rocker Remi (Marc-Andre Grondin) and band members JF (Francis La Haye) and Pat (Simon Larouche).  At the parents’ house, they record an album, ensuing events test Nicole and Veronique’s longtime friendship.

There is much to enjoy in LaFelur’s observation about nobodies in a small town.  LAFleur fills his film with metaphors (Nicole’s fence locked up on a fence with other bikes) which are nifty to pick up.  His film is filled with small town nuances which are funny - deadpan Aki Kuarismaki style.  Example: Nicole using a vacuum to suck up dog poo, as she is too flustered to use her hands.  His film is also very well photographed and framed, just like the two paintings in the house where Nicole wakes up at the start of the film.  And the back and white look of the widescreen shots is gorgeous.

TU DORS NICOLE is a wonderful film celebrating the simplicity of what life offers.  Skip the Hollywood blockbusters and see this gem of a movie, which was a hit at Cannes this year.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w--5auC1yr8

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