Welcome to the '90s: Montreal shows its love for Les Colocs

- Les Colocs, Le Répondeur

Really, is there anything a biopic can say about Dédé Fortin, dearly departed lead singer of Les Colocs, that he didn't say himself in the songs he wrote? As I watched the credits roll on Dédé, à travers les brumes, writer/director Jean-Philippe Duval's sensitive, understated film about the singer's life and death, I wondered whether Fortin's songs or the Colocs legacy would mean anything outside Quebec, or if the film worked because of the chords it struck at home?

Listening to the film's reinterpretations of songs like Bon Yeu or Pis si ô moins tells us the music is still as relevant in Montreal as it was in 1991 during the Colocs' first gig at Quai des Brumes, or when they sold out Spectrum during their salad days in the late '90s.

But mostly, the film works because it conveys, without grandstanding or oversentimentalizing, the crucial place Les Colocs and Fortin have in the music of our city: Montreal bands owe a debt to Les Colocs's insistence on singing in French, on bringing their politics into their music, and creating an atmosphere in which bands like Loco Locass and others could flourish.

Duval tells Fortin's life story through the filter of his music, and subtly lines up the factors - hereditary mental illness, poverty, sexual compulsion, the '95 referendum - that delimited his descent into depression. Sébastien Ricard melts into the role of Fortin both onscreen and in his reinterpretation of the classic songs, playing Le Répondeur with a broken heart that attests to how the music endures.

Dédé, à travers les brumes

 
 

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A delayed response from outside Québec...     I am just now looking for more information about this film, having just found the soundtrack (the cover being somewhat eerie... I had certainly not expected to find a new disc by Dédé!) Then of course, it became clear this was a soundtrack for a film. I am now (several months after its release) trying desperately to find more information about it. Asking "whether Fortin's songs or the Colocs legacy would mean anything outside Québec", ignores not only the far reach of the Internet in tearing down cultural borders, but also the vast number of ex-patriots who have long used the music of Les Colocs (among others) to maintain a connection with an important part of their own identity. The love I feel for Monsieur Fortin, and for what his music means to me, goes far beyond fandom. It helps put me in touch with the essence of who I am because of my youth in Québec. Even though I left Québec during the glory days of Charlebois, I have continued to use la musique Québécoise as an effective panacea for the longing of cultural separation. Dédé embodied being alone, even when surrounded by friends, making the connection to him - and his music - an emotional experience Québec extends far beyond its borders in this country, a fact that is oft forgotten. There are tens of thousands of us (likely far more) for whom, the culture that is Québec is an integral part of who we are as Canadian, because it is embedded in our souls! For us, the artificial cultural border is maddening. 'Dédé, à travers les brumes' has only had one two-day screening (with absolutely no media support) in Toronto, a city where a polish art-house film can gain a multiple-week run!). If it were not for online stores such as Palmares, I would have absolutely no access to your music industry (beyond piracy!) How ludicrous is that? So don't ask if the story of chère André "Dédé" Fortin can mean anything outside Québec... For many of us, it means far more than it ever could INSIDE Québec!
Paul Bonnette		November 29th, 2009
don't miss it     Well I can certainly answer Melora's question on whether "Dédé à travers les brumes" (a much more interesting title than the English translation) would mean anything for non-quebecers. I was not born here, in fact I wasn't even living here yet in the 90's, and even though I knew nothing of the band before I went to see the movie, I absolutely loved it. It's really about a small group of non-Montrealer musicians who bond and live and do music together in Montreal. The movie doesn't waste time showing us things we already know - that is, how popular and successful they were. Instead, it stays true to the band's spirit by going straight for the emotion and fun and pain. The sincerity of the project and of the acting renders poignant those scenes that could have been phony, like Pat's death. The animated sequences work well in providing additional windows to Dédé's mind. Québec movies tend to be either self-conscious, cynical, or trivial. This one is all the opposite: generous, courageous, and meaningful. You might not like it as much as I did, but I guarantee that you will think about it for a few days after having seen it. If you watch only one Quebec movie this year, it should be this one.
Lionel Berthoux		March 20th, 2009

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