Polytechnique (Canada, 2009)
Drama film co-written and directed by Denis Villeneuve. It tells the story of a mass shooting that took place at Ecole Polytechnique (Montreal) in 1989.
A woman hating gunman goes on a shooting rampage at a Montreal university. He specifically targets women because he hates "feminists". The film shows the killer but, rightly, focuses more on the victims and survivors (who were, of course, also victims).
There is no way to tell this story that will satisfy all audiences. It was a brutal mass murder. The fact that the gunman allowed men to escape, while killing every woman he could, is particularly chilling.
Villeneuve chose to tell the story in a brisk 77 minutes while filming in black & white without a soundtrack. Both were good decisions. The event is so horrific that I wanted it to be over. The choice of black & white gives the camera a certain detachment from the violence. This detachment made some of the scenes even more horrific. People are being butchered and it is just happening and it seems impossible but it is just happening.
One of the most disturbing parts of the film is that the killer's brief explanations of his motivations would not sound out of place on Sherdog. This sort of incel-rage is common on social media today.
Rating: I don't want to rate the film because it depicts a real tragedy and how that story is told will offend some and satisfy no one. I found it brutal and flawed and powerful and haunting.
