It's Only the End of the World (2016)

Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying.

Director:

Xavier Dolan

Writers:

Xavier Dolan (screenplay by), Jean-Luc Lagarce (based on play by)

Stars:

Gaspard Ulliel, Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux

13 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nathalie Baye	...	La mère
Vincent Cassel	...	Antoine
Marion Cotillard	...	Catherine
Léa Seydoux	...	Suzanne
Gaspard Ulliel	...	Louis
Antoine DesRochers	...	Pierre Jolicoeur (as Antoine Desrochers)
William Boyce Blanchette	...	Louis (15 ans)
Sasha Samar	...	Chauffeur de taxi
Arthur Couillard	...	Petit garçon - avion
Patricia Tulasne	...	Hôtesse
Emile Rondeau	...	Louis (5-6 ans)
Théodore Pellerin	...	Antoine (16-22 ans)
Jenyane Provencher	...	Jeune fille - trampoline

Storyline

After 12 years of absence, Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), a writer, goes back to his hometown, planning on announcing his upcoming death to his family. As resentment soon rewrites the course of the afternoon, fits and feuds unfold, fuelled by loneliness and doubt, while all attempts of empathy are sabotaged by people's incapacity to listen and love.

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Plot Keywords:

illness | returning home | incommunicability | gay lead character | childhood memory | 

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Taglines:

It would have been a lovely family dinner. If it weren't the last.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [UK]

Country:

Canada France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

30 June 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

It's Only the End of the World

Filming Locations:

Sainte-Dorothée, Laval, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$7,400,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,231,823

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sons of Manual, MK2 Productions, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film starring Marion Cotillard to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite starring in highly acclaimed films like Rust and Bone (2012) and Two Days, One Night (2014), her films didn't win any award at the festival from 2012 to 2015.

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Quotes

Louis-Jean Knipper: There I was, after 10 years, well, 12, to be precise. So after 12 years of absence and in spite of my fear, I was going to visit them. In life there a number of motivations that are no one's business, that force you to leave without looking back. And there are just as many motivations that force you to return. So after all those years, I decided to retrace my steps. Take the journey... to announce my death. Announce it in person, and try to give the others and myself one last time, the illusion...

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Connections

Featured in The Art of Directing: Xavier Dolan (2017)

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Soundtracks

Genesis
Written by Grimes (as Claire Élise Boucher)
Performed by Grimes
Published by KOBALT Songs for Grimes Creative Production
Authorized by Beggars Group Media

User Reviews

I do not agree with...

Most of the critics did not like this movie. Their argument was that it had a great and promising cast, but that the combination didn't add up to much..a disappointment they said. Well, I do not agree at all. And after having seen "Mommy" I was convinced that the director couldn't have spoiled things going forward..if anything, he was even getting better. This is one of those movies that whispers something to you without you even knowing. A whisper about a dysfunctional family, wrong timing, memories trapped halfway between your throat and your mouth..Words left unsaid, and meanwhile, everyone eats, everyone smokes, lunch and dessert..white wine Not red. Old Home and the new.. An airport, a cup of coffee and a magazine. A song, a dance while the protagonist is standing outside looking inside himself while everyone is looking at him and staring, wondering why is he here and trying to read what he hasn't even written yet..They are all wondering whether he has the right to show up just like that after 12 years away from them. But isn't he the writer after all, the one with the burden..and the one with the choice? Should he or should he not? say something.. and why can't he leave just like he entered ...without disturbing the order of things. If only there was someone in the crowd who is able to understand his whisper, his slow gestures and his silent scream that keeps reverberating inside..and time strikes again and again. someone lifts him up under a gigantic blue sky. "Let's go for a drive". A drive down memory lane, a drive inside a family's heart, mind and soul. A highly emotional and daring movie, tensed, real, so real that it will take your breath away more than once. Highly recommended for its authenticity, great cast, pace, music, cinematography and the well deserved Jury Prize in Cannes 2016.