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Looking for Eternity

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Looking for Eternity
FrenchPortion d'éternité
Directed byRobert Favreau
Screenplay byRobert Favreau
Produced byMarie-Andrée Vinet
StarringMarc Messier
Danielle Proulx
Paul Savoie
CinematographyGuy Dufaux
Edited byHélène Girard
Music byMarie Bernard
Production
company
Les Productions du regard
Distributed byPrima Films
Release date
  • August 1989 (1989-08) (FFM)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

Looking for Eternity (French: Portion d'éternité) is a Canadian science fiction drama film, directed by Robert Favreau and released in 1989.[1] The film stars Paul Savoie as Antoine, a doctor running a fertility clinic; after Pierre (Marc Messier) and Marie (Danielle Proulx), an infertile couple who were clients of his clinic, are killed in a car accident, he is drawn into a legal battle with Pierre's father (Gilles Pelletier), who wants their embryos destroyed, while Antoine himself wants to use them to test his theory that a form of immortality can be achieved through cloning.[2]

The cast also includes Patricia Nolin as Hélène, a government agent investigating Antoine's clinic, as well as Maryse Gagné, Raymond Cloutier, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Daniel Gadouas, Hélène Mercier and Mark Hellman in supporting roles.

Production and distribution

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The film was Favreau's narrative feature debut, after several documentary films.[3] It premiered at the 1989 Montreal World Film Festival,[4] where it won the award for Best Canadian Film and Proulx won the award for Best Actress.[5]

Critical response

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Pat Donnelly of the Montreal Gazette reviewed the film negatively, writing that "at its best, Portion d'eternite is a quasi-documentary that dares to go where no legislator wants to - into the ethical questions surrounding reproductive technology. At its worst, it's a sensationalistic science-fiction téléroman on the trendy subject of in-vitro fertilization."[6]

References

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  1. ^ Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN 1-894073-21-5. p. 129.
  2. ^ Mary Alemany-Galway, "Robert Favreau's Portion d'éternité". Cinema Canada, November 1989.
  3. ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "Portion d’éternité – Film de Robert Favreau". Films du Québec, February 5, 2009.
  4. ^ "Star-studded lineup set for Montreal film festival". Edmonton Journal, August 3, 1989.
  5. ^ "Drama about Soviet youth prisons wins top prize". Montreal Gazette, September 5, 1989.
  6. ^ Pat Donnelly, "Baby-factory fantasy is a stillborn tale". Montreal Gazette, September 2, 1989.
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