“This is not an indictment of my time”: Denis Arcand takes a puzzled look at our society in his film “The Testament”

Denis Arcand, 82, has not said his last word, and more importantly, he is not finished generating reactions. And in his new movie. willthe celebrated director who has been part of our cultural landscape for 60 years, takes a baffling look at the excesses of our current society.

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Cancel culture, disrespect for the elderly, awakened activists who want to erase and rewrite history, rabid feminists, double-talk from politicians… Denis Arcand spares no one in this new satirical comedy – which will not necessarily be his last film – in which Raimi slips Girard in the skin of a 70-year-old bachelor overshadowed by an era dominated by political correctness.

“This is not an indictment of my time,” the director explained. Decline of the American Empire And based on jesus montreal, On the day of the film’s premiere, last Monday.

“I would say I’m more confused. Are we moving towards a world where we’re going to correct all the arts? We’re already starting to correct texts that aren’t so important like… James Bond And the Harry Potter. But we can also correct Shakespeare… It fills me with confusion. Like all old people, I wonder where we’re going…”

Once again, Denis Arcand turned to his old partner, Remy Girard, to defend the lead role in his film. will Remarkably, it marks the seventh collaboration between the director and his favorite actor The collapse of the American empire And Barbary invasions.

“Remy is my spokesman and my alter ego. Therefore, he experiences what I experience in society and in the environment in which I live,” Arcand explains.

“The questions are constant in this complex era we live in. In the film, his character is the one who expresses his dismay in the face of life’s complexities. He is a bit of a helpless character.

Denis Arcand knows full well that this new show will split. Therefore, he prefers to let the audience decide which side to take.

“I have enough confidence in the public,” he said in an interview. Newspaper. It’s funny, but for mysterious reasons, the audience understands what I’m doing. It is often understood better than some critics, some professors, and some intellectuals. People completely understand what I’m saying. »

◀ will It takes place across Quebec on October 5.