The Search for Fathers and History in

1
The Search for Fathers and History in

• Le confessionnal

2
Outline

• Father and History
• The Biological Fathers in Le Confessionnal
• The Catholic fathers past and present
• Filmic father? The Role of Hitchcock and I
  Confess
• 2. History, Form and Content
• The films historical methods and view of history
  
• Dominant symbols wall, colors, confessional
• 3. In or Outside of History? The Roles of
  women, the aborigine and the Oriental

3
Starting Questions

• What leads to the suicides of Rachel in 1952,
  and then Marc in 1989?
• Why is Rachel weepy all the time in the film?
  What are her problems? Why cannot she reveal the
  fathers identity?
• Why does Marc have to find his father?

4
Starting Questions (2)

• What are the influences of the Catholic fathers
  on Rachel and then on Marc?
• How about Hitchcock?
• Repeated Suicide in the film Does history repeat
  itself?

5
Marc, his mother his Biological Father (clip
1 2)

• Rachels social position and suicide
• An attractive single woman (clip1 4) (clip
  15)
• Everything would be better if I were dead
• Cannot tell.
• Paul-Emile wife depressed by miscarriage
  cannot confess (clip 16)
• Marc, not loved by Paul-Emile, does not feel
  belong (as an orphan or gay?)
• Marcs negligence as a father (clip 1 13)

6
Catholicism the Catholic Fathers in Le
confessionnal

• The old priest not helpful (clip1 3)
• The faith healer
• Catholicism in Quebecpast and present
• Marsicott as the young priest (clip 2 11)
• Marsicott as the old diplomat
• Control Marc rent boy
• tricking Pierre with the seal of the
  confessional White on red, sink as lead (clip
  1 8)

7
The two false fathers and their final
revelations

• Futile search everybody is dead
• Revelation of Marsicott to Marc,
• Revelation of Marsicott to Pierre
• Revelation of Paul Emile to Hitchcock.
• -- Not helpful at all.
• -- the Churchs roles in separatism and the
  resistance to false fathers

8
False father (1) the Church

• The role of Catholicism in separatist movement
• The role of collaboration To pacify Quebecois
  people, British government let the Catholic
  church be in charge of education and social
  services.
• The Church is represented as wedded to the
  Anglo-Canadian bourgeoisie in a marriage where it
  takes care of all womanly vocations, while at the
  same time effiminizing its own sons.
  (Schwartzwald 185)

9
False Father (2) Duplessiss regime

• Maurice Duplessis Premier of Quebec before the
  Quiet Revolution
• instituting the Quebec flag the creation of a
  provincial income tax scheme
• discontent about his corruptions (selling the
  resources of the province to the highest bidder,
  disregarding human rights) seen as a Dark
  years. This discontent was vented in Quiet
  Revolution.

10
Nationalist revolution (3) Quiet Revolution in
1960s

• modernization of the Catholic, agrarian
  Quebec.
• the materialism in society which
  Denys Arcand criticizes.
• termination of the Catholic rule.

11
Filmic father? The Role of Hitchcock and I
Confess

• Hitchcocks authoritative roles in the play
• Cut! (clip1 15 )
• Disrupting the churchs activities (clip 1 12
  14)
• Dismissive judgment of Quebec (clip 1 16)
• Author
• rehearsal -- choose his actress.
• one to determine the nature of the story and
  whether to take it or not.
• -- representative of American imperialism

12
Filmic father? The Role of Hitchcock and I
Confess

• Lepages playful use of the film
• from killing to give birth
• the priest is not innocent
• use of the drainage (clip 1 23) stairway
• the End // ending of Marcs life

13
History and Historical Method

• Is Lamontaigne family doomed by the two family
  traits (diabetes and suicide)?
• the ending (clip 1 17)
• Parallel between the past and the present

14
Historical Method (2) transitions

• between past and
  present
• Arbitrary music and voice over as connections
  
• Hs assistant Pity! ? Pierre on the bed.
• the same place (church, the house, esp. the
  corridor and stairway) (clip 2 3, 5, 9, 8)
• the past is in the present
• Coincidence baptism, Pierres watching the
  photos young girl ? T.V. anchoress (clip 2 12)
  
• Symbolic transition descending on an elevator
  (clip 15) Pierre throwing the paint bucket on
  the wall (clip 1 20)

15
Symbolic meanings

• the Wall
• the confessional
• the colors (clips 1 18, 19, 20)

16
The Outsiders in national history

• Center the real Father and Brothers (clip 1 7
  9)
• Moose and Manon
• images of the old men (clip 1 21, 22)
• The Japanese and the Chinese?

17
Homophobic sexual anxiety in Quebecois
nationalist project

• In the 60s progressive in its social
  objectives, anti-colonial
• In this anxiety, those found to be traitors or
  sell-outs to the cause of national revolution are
  gendered as passive/seductive men.
• Better far to be pédéraste than a fédéraste
  (Place dArme 1967)
• pédéraste French signifier for homosexuality
  -- pederasty (Schwartzwald 179)