« What a difference a day makes ”, sang Dinah Washington suavely. And she didn’t mean to say it that well. Especially in the case of these three films where, in 24 hours, everything changes for the characters. But unlike in the song, for them, nothing will work out, quite the contrary!
The bloody waterfall of Shitty dayde Kevin T. Landry (2023)
Winner of the Gilles-Carle prize at the Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma, Shitty day is the kind of film that lives up to its title very well. Because for Eve Ringuette, who plays Maude, it will be one – and in a big way!
Her ex harasses her by phone. Her boss constantly scolds her. His son, a tall teenager, excels in the sullenly aggressive style. For her, life is already far from being a long, quiet river. But when she has to go deep into the woods, in the middle of winter, to interview a Loto-Gold winner (Réal Bossé, perfectly disturbing), she truly understands what a shitty day can be. Dark humor, unabashed trash, references to thrillers and westerns: Kevin T. Landry has fun creating a perfectly offbeat universe where the more the hours go by, the more the worst is revealed!
To be seen on ICI Télé on 10th at 11:05 p.m.
The locked nightmare ofA dog’s afternoon (A Dog Day Afternoon), de Sidney Lumet (1975)
On August 22, 1972, an apprentice criminal sets out to rob a bank in Brooklyn with two of his friends. But nothing will happen (obviously) as planned and the day will turn into a nightmare both for them and for their hostages, whom the FBI will soon identify, under the eyes of onlookers and journalists. All for… $1100 in the coffers! Al Pacino in one of his most striking roles, Sidney Lumet at the helm of a nervous and particularly anxiety-inducing film (recounting a perfectly real story), a scenario transforming a news item into a real tragedy:
A dog’s afternoon didn’t need more than these few hours to become a true cinema classic.
Laughter as reinforcement in A day without end (Groundhog Day), d’Harold Ramis (1993)
Each year, invariably, it returns as a more or less reliable indicator of future weather conditions. On February 2, if the groundhog sees its shadow, winter will continue!
But for Phil Connors, a journalist responsible for reporting on the event
this day will take a completely different turn. Because it will start again, again and again and again…. And Bill Murray, in the role of this poor man, will be able to do nothing about it. Doomed to relive the same day over and over again? It is indeed a certain idea of horror! But under the eye of Harold Ramis, it also becomes the pretext for a particularly successful comedy, whose tone is matched only by the sense of surprise. A touch of sentiment, a good dose of laughter, a dose of reflection on male-female relationships: Groundhog Day can start again several times, we will only enjoy it more.
Shitty dayto be seen on ICI Télé on January 10 at 11:05 p.m.
The trailer (source: YouTube)
