C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005) - Rich French-Canadian coming-of-age tale from Vallée

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Canadian Movie of the Year + Best Coming-of-Age Movie of the Year

One of the colorful posters for Jean-Marc Vallée's C.R.A.Z.Y.

QUICK REVIEW:

C.R.A.Z.Y. is about a French-speaking Canadian family, who only get boys: 5 sons. We follow one of them closely: Zack, who grows up struggling with his homosexuality.

The central in Canadian co-writer-director Jean-Marc Vallée's (Dallas Buyers Club (2013)) cozy and realistically specific film here is the family and the relations between parents and children, and brothers among one another. It is a beautifully rendered coming-of-age story with good acting, particularly from Michel Côté (Cruising Bar (1989)) and Danielle Proulx (Monsieur Lazhar (2011)) as the father and mother. The film is heightened by smart editing and a style that invokes Alan Ball's Six Feet Under (2001-05)), along with a booming soundtrack that would make angels sing. C.R.A.Z.Y. is moving, relevant and truthful.
It is the best film that I have yet seen from Vallée, who premiered Wild last year and will release his Jake Gyllenhaal-starring Demolition later this year. - A happening director indeed.

Related review:

Jean-Marc Vallée: Dallas Buyers Club (2013) or, Taking Life by the Horns

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 6.5 mil. CA $
Box office. 5.8 mil. CA $
= Uncertainty
[But most likely financially a minor flop. The film didn't get a US release, but it did win awards at a handful of film festivals. It was also Canada's official Oscar entry of the year, and nearly 450k paid admission to see it in France.]

What do you think of C.R.A.Z.Y.?