Deliver Us from Evil (1969 film)

Deliver Us from Evil (French: Délivrez-nous du mal) is a 1969 Canadian drama film, written, directed, and edited by Jean-Claude Lord.[1] One of the first Canadian films ever to address the subject of homosexuality,[2] the film was produced and shot in 1965 but remained unreleased until 1969 due to its sensitive subject matter.[1]

Deliver Us from Evil
FrenchDélivrez-nous du mal
Directed byJean-Claude Lord
Written byJean-Claude Lord
Based onDélivrez-nous du mal by Claude Jasmin
StarringYvon Deschamps
Guy Godin
Catherine Bégin
Olivette Thibault
CinematographyClaude Charron
Edited byJean-Claude Lord
Music byFrançois Dompierre
Production
company
Coopératio
Distributed byFrance Film
Release date
Running time
82 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

The film centres on the emotionally complex and abusive relationship between André (Yvon Deschamps), a gay man, and Georges (Guy Godin), a bisexual man who was also formerly romantically involved with André's sister Lucille (Catherine Bégin). When a vacation at a hotel ends with Georges having sex with a woman, André is driven to attempt both suicide and murder because of his inability to secure Georges' affections.[1]

The film was not well received by critics,[1] and has subsequently been heavily criticized as a "sordid" film that relies too heavily on outdated stereotypes of homosexual men.[3] The film's representation of gay identity was most prominently analyzed by Thomas Waugh in a 1981 article for the magazine Copie Zéro.[4]

Due to its controversial reception, following its premiere the film was not widely seen until a restored print was screened at Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival in 2016.[1]

References

  1. Charles-Henri Ramond, "Délivrez-nous du mal – Film de Jean-Claude Lord". Films du Québec, January 8, 2009.
  2. "L’homosexualité dans le cinéma québécois". Ici Radio-Canada, June 7, 2018.
  3. Janis L. Pallister, The Cinema of Québec: Masters in Their Own House. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1995. ISBN 9780838635629. p. 281.
  4. Thomas Waugh, "Nègres blancs, tapettes et « butch » ; les lesbiennes et les gais dans le cinéma québécois". Copie Zéro - Vues sur le cinéma québécois, October 1981.


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