C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

Director:

Jean-Marc Vallée

Writers:

François Boulay (writer)
Jean-Marc Vallée (writer)

Release Date:

3 March 2006 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Growing up in this family, you'd have to be... C.R.A.Z.Y.

Plot:

C.R.A.Z.Y. Extraordinary lives of ordinary people in search of love and happiness - that's the premise of "C.R.A.Z.Y", a family drama unlike any other.

Plot Keywords:

1960s | Bicycle Accident | Birthday Present | Israel | Asthma

Awards:

37 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Michel Côté	...	Gervais Beaulieu
Marc-André Grondin	...	Zachary Beaulieu 15 à 21 ans
Danielle Proulx	...	Laurianne Beaulieu
Émile Vallée	...	Zachary Beaulieu 6 à 8 ans
Pierre-Luc Brillant	...	Raymond Beaulieu 22 à 28 ans
Maxime Tremblay	...	Christian Beaulieu 24 à 30 ans
Alex Gravel	...	Antoine Beaulieu 21 à 27 ans
Natasha Thompson	...	Michelle 15 à 22 ans
Johanne Lebrun	...	Doris
Mariloup Wolfe	...	Brigitte 15 à 20 ans
Francis Ducharme	...	Paul
Hélène Grégoire	...	Madame Chose
Michel Laperrière	...	Psychothérapeute
Jean-Louis Roux	...	Prêtre
Mohamed Majd	...	Bédouin
Claude Gagnon	...	Narrateur
Jean-Alexandre Létourneau	...	Christian Beaulieu 15 à 17 ans
Sébastien Blouin	...	Antoine Beaulieu 12 à 14 ans
Félix-Antoine Despatie	...	Yvan Beaulieu 13 à 16 ans
Gabriel Lalancette	...	Yvan Beaulieu 8 à 9 ans
Denis Trudel	...	Oncle Georges
Paule Ducharme	...	Tante Diane
Aline Hooper	...	Grand-mère Angèle
Isabelle Page	...	Tante Monique
Christian Vezina	...	Oncle Lucien
Anik Vermette	...	Corinne
Marie-Yong Godbout-Turgeon	...	Min
Aziz Attab	...	Vendeur kiosque de cartes postales
Philippe Muller	...	Jeune étranger
Jérôme Aubin	...	Jérôme
Jean-Marc Vallée	...	Jeune prêtre
Marie-Michelle Duchesne	...	Michelle 6 à 8 ans
Alexandre Ayotte	...	Thomas
Mathieu Pelletier	...	Étudiant costaud
Élizabeth Adam	...	Brigitte 6 ans
Emmanuel Raymond	...	Raymond Beaulieu 7 ans
Charles-Édouard Tanguay	...	Chistian Beaulieu 9 ans
Émile Gagnon-Girard	...	Antoine Beaulieu 6 ans
Olivier Benard	...	Bébé Zachary naissant
David Vaillant	...	Bébé Yvan 7 mois à 1 an
Hugo Vaillant	...	Bébé Yvan 7 mois à 1 an
Alexandre Marchand	...	Bébé Yvan 3 mois
Nikita Jaksi	...	Bébé Yvan naissant
Yves Perreault	...	DJ
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jonathan Collins	...	Emilio
Antoine Côté-Potvin	...	Raymond Beaulieu 13 à 15 ans

Directed by
Jean-Marc Vallée

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
François Boulay		writer
Jean-Marc Vallée		writer

Produced by
Jacques Blain	....	executive producer
Pierre Even	....	producer
Nicole Hilaréguy	....	line producer
Richard Speer	....	executive producer
Jean-Marc Vallée	....	co-producer

Original Music by
David Bowie

Cinematography by
Pierre Mignot		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Paul Jutras

Casting by
Daniel Poisson

Production Design by
Patrice Vermette		(as Patrice Bricault-Vermette)

Art Direction by
Patrice Vermette

Costume Design by
Ginette Magny

Makeup Department
Réjean Goderre	....	key hair stylist
C.J. Goldman	....	special makeup effects artist
Kathy Kelso	....	makeup artist: extras
Christine Larocque	....	wig maker
Adrien Morot	....	key special makeup effects artist
Micheline Trépanier	....	makeup department head
Nathalie Trépanier	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Zoubir Belgsir	....	unit manager
Laurent Communaux	....	unit manager
Danny Turgeon	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Noureddine Aberdine	....	first assistant director
Emilie Malo	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Natacha Antiglio	....	coordinator
John-Michael Bellamy	....	props
Charles-André Bertrand	....	property master
Martin Chalifoux	....	construction manager
Louis Frederic Denomme	....	set dresser
Martin Handfield	....	on-set property master
Jose Holder	....	storyboard artist
Amélie Leonard	....	assistant to set designer (as Amélie Léonard)
Alain Perron	....	assistant art director
Alain Rouiller	....	set dresser
Mélanie Truchon	....	scenic painter
Halima Zniber	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Yvon Benoît	....	sound mixer
Daniel Bisson	....	sound recordist
Luc Boudrias	....	sound re-recording mixer
Anton Fishlin	....	sound editor
Bernard Gariépy Strobl	....	sound re-recording mixer
Hans Laitres	....	sound re-recording mix assistant
Patrick Lalonde	....	assistant sound mixer
Patrick Lalonde	....	assistant sound re-recording mixer
Jacques-Alexandre Levesque	....	foley artist assistant
Mira Mailhot	....	sound editor
Simon Meilleur	....	foley artist
Mireille Morin	....	sound editor
Martin Pinsonnault	....	supervising sound editor
Jean-François Sauvé	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Normand Gobeille	....	special effects technician
Guillaume Murray	....	special effects supervisor
Martin Williams	....	special effects rigger

Visual Effects by
Nicolas Cadorette	....	compositor
Marc Cote	....	visual effects director (as Marc Cõté)
Daniel Coupal	....	compositor
Thai Son Doan	....	compositor
Gunnar Hansen	....	visual effects consultant
Isabelle Langlois	....	digital compositor
Isabelle Riva	....	production consultant
Sylvain Theroux	....	lead digital artist
Jean Phillipe Traore	....	Flame artist
Kim Yong-Kyun	....	lead technical director
Kim Yong-Kyun	....	senior compositor

Stunts
Philippe Roberge	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Geoffroy Beauchemin	....	underwater camera operator
Michel Bernier	....	focus puller
Jean-François Dasylva-LaRue	....	grip
Andre-Pierre Lampron	....	electrician
Denis-Noel Mostert	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Yanka Pelletier	....	grip
Sébastien Raymond	....	still photographer
David Reinhard	....	first assistant camera: underwater scenes
Geoffroy St-Hilaire	....	second assistant camera
Jean-Francois Tousignant	....	loader

Casting Department
Mustapha Grumij	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anne-Marie Aird	....	costume design assistant
Julie Amyot	....	dresser

Editorial Department
Marie-Hélène Bourget	....	assistant on-line editor
Simon Broderick	....	telecine colorist
Geneviève Hébert	....	director of post-production
Sylvain Lebel	....	additional editor
Arthur Montreuil	....	color timer

Other crew
Guy Aumond	....	production accountant
Annemarie Berthiaume	....	production assistant
Brigitte Chabot	....	unit publicist
Danielle Dussault	....	location manager
Jeannette Garcia	....	assistant to producer
Charlene Hodge	....	accounting assistant

Thanks
Chantal Cacheux	....	thanks
Sylvain Guy	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Cirrus Communications
• Crazy Films

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Océan Films (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Quality Films (2006) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Soda Pictures (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• TVA Films (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Tour de Force (2006) (Norway) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (200?) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Bir Film (2006) (Turkey) (all media)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD) (retail)
• EuroVideo (2006) (Germany) (DVD) (rental)
• Gateno Films (2006) (Peru) (all media)
• Genius Products (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Lighthouse Pictures (2006) (Singapore) (all media)
• Orlando Films (2005) (Israel) (all media)
• Red Envelope Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• TF1 Vidéo (2006) (France) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Fake Pictures (visual and digital finishing)
• Fake Studio (visual effects, post-production)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Concept & Creation Mordicus  construction
• Kodak Canada  film stock
• Locations Michel Trudel  camera equipment provided by

Also Known As:

C.R.A.Z.Y. (UK) (USA)
Crazy (International: English title) (alternative spelling)
Çilgin (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
C.R.A.Z.Y. (Greece) [el]
C.R.A.Z.Y. (Poland) [pl]
C.R.A.Z.Y. (Finland) [fi]
C.R.A.Z.Y. (Argentina) (festival title) [es]
C.R.A.Z.Y. (Norway) [no]
C.R.A.Z.Y. - Loucos de Amor (Brazil) (festival title) [pt]
C.R.A.Z.Y. - Una familia disfuncional como cualquiera (Mexico) (original subtitled version) [es]
C.R.A.Z.Y. - Verrücktes Leben (Germany) [de]
Mis gloriosos hermanos (C.R.A.Z.Y.) (Argentina) [es]

Runtime:

Canada:127 min (Québec) | Argentina:127 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Ireland:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:M18 | Germany:12 | Hungary:14 | Finland:K-11 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Sweden:11 | Australia:MA | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Canada:13+ (Québec)

Filming Locations:

Essaouira, Morocco

Company:

Cirrus Communications

Trivia:

The music rights cost CND$600 000.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: It's 1975 and Zach's cousin is sporting the popular Farrah Fawcett hairdo that EVERYONE tried to wear back then. Problem is, Charlie's Angels hadn't yet debuted until a year later. Same thing with the Saturday Night Fever-influenced disco three-piece suit. That was made famous everywhere by the film, but in this film the influence is seen before the movie even came out.

Quotes:

Laurianne Beaulieu: [to Zac, after his accident] Thank God you were dedicated to Virgin Mary.

Soundtrack:

Carol of the Bells

Best Quebec movie ever? I'd say so!

To say it bluntly, it is to my advice the best Quebec movie ever made, and from a more global perspective a very good movie no matter what you choose to compare it to.

It is a story about a young homosexual (although it isn't clearly stated in the film, and it probably would be closer to the truth to say he's bisexual), born in the 60's. We see him evolving through the next three decades, with all the difficulties one might see in having troubles with sexual orientation in theses years (among which the perception of other people of his age, questions about himself because of the taboo nature of the topic, problems having it accepted by parents and so on).

There's many things that make me to say it's the best Quebec-made movie ever. First of all, it's actually quite different from anything else to come from Quebec, as far as I can think of it. This is quite surprising, since almost all the action takes place in this province. It's far more dramatic and emotional than anything else before (maybe saved Sur le Seuil which was more tragic). Besides, Quebec has always produced a lot of humor-oriented movies (les Boys, Quebec-Montreal, etc), which do have some charm but also feel like they have all been made out of the same recipe, Quebec humor being one of a kind. It's also successful in not falling into traditional clichés of Quebec society in a given period of time (a thing that Séraphin, for example, failed to do), but at the same time depicting quite accurately what life was like at the time. It's also successful in incorporating a very diversified soundtrack, using both songs from Quebec and American cultures. That lacked in many films, although in reality you actually get both pretty much equally. To be able to recognize this and deal with it is worth being recognized. The casting is also pretty strong, in part because of the performances of the actors but also because there are some new faces in it. Another annoying tendency in movies made in Quebec is that often see the same faces over and over again.

If you put it in a larger frame, it is still a must see that I believe will get it's fair share of attention and prices outside the province. That's a thing that the Invasions Barbares did, but other than that it's hard to think of much more. The song track, besides being very good, is also brilliantly used. For example, the music Zac listens to is very representative of theses decades (you get Pink Floyd, David Bowie) and evolves with the character, and is also used to create some insides between the characters (like Hier encore j'avais 20 ans, that is sung every Christmas). The three main antagonists in the movie (Zac, his brother Raymond and his father) have developed relationships with each other that are by no mean static, and in fact no even always antagonistic. Even though the story is told from Zac's perspective, he's far from flawless, as all the other characters, except maybe for the mother, who's more than often the neutral, moderated one in the many conflicts that arise. Some dialogs are actually quite funny (like the one about sodomy between Zac's father and his wife, in which Michel Côté shows he's a damn good actor).

Finally, I would say that the movie is also successful in not using easy clichés when it comes to homosexuality. Many movies got fucked up when it came to that topic, but this one doesn't. As I said before, Zac is supposedly homosexual, although it's never clearly stated and he might also just be bisexual. You don't get any real dirty stuff. The conservatives point of view on the matter are mentioned (by his fathers, among others), but aren't overwhelmingly present either. The movie is well-balanced.