The Orders Movie Review

The Orders is directed with thought and care by Michel Brault, who also did the screenplay. It's about the unjust suspension of civil liberties in Quebec during 1970. Told entirely from the viewpoint of the victims, The Orders stars many of the people who were actually arrested, although they take on different roles. Acting by the nonprofessionals, though low-key, is heartbreakingly affecting. If it could happen to them in Quebec, it could happen to anyone, anywhere. What would you do if the police came in the middle of the morning and took you away to jail, forcing you to leave your children and never once explained why? Brault shows us what THEY did, making us angry, making us think. The Orders deservedly won the Director's Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. AKA: Les Ordres.

1975 107m/C CA Helene Louiselle, Jean Lapointe, Guy Provost, Claude Gauthier, Louise Forestier; D: Michel Brault; W: Michel Brault; C: Michel Brault, Francois Protat; M: Phillipe Gagnon.