Tell Me Why These Things Are So Beautiful () is a Canadian drama film, directed by Lyne Charlebois and released in 2023.Maxime Demers, "Le film «Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles» sera présenté en clôture du Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue". Le Journal de Montréal, September 7, 2023.
The film stars Alexandre Goyette as Marie-Victorin Kirouac, the Roman Catholic clergyman who was instrumental in the creation of the Montreal Botanical Garden, and Mylène Mackay as Marcelle Gauvreau, a young botany student with whom he had a longtime emotionally intimate but platonic friendship.Caroline Bertrand, "Marcelle Gauvreau et Marie-Victorin s’aimeront (chastement) à l’écran". Métro, February 17, 2023.
The cast also includes Rachel Graton, Francis Ducharme, Sylvie Moreau, Marianne Farley and Vincent Graton.Charles-Henri Ramond, "(FCIAT 2023) Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles en clôture". Films du Québec, September 18, 2023.
Production The film entered production in early 2023. It was shot principally in Montreal, although several days of location shooting were also undertaken in Cuba.Émilie Côté, "Les leçons d’un grand amour". La Presse, January 13, 2023.
Mackay previously played Gauvreau in André Forcier's 2019 film Forgotten Flowers (Les fleurs oubliées), opposite Yves Jacques as Kirouac.Alex Rose, "Roy Dupuis pukes actual rainbows in André Forcier’s Les fleurs oubliées". Cult MTL, October 25, 2019.
Distribution The film premiered on November 2, 2023, as the closing film of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival. It later screened in the Borsos Competition program at the 2023 Whistler Film Festival.Taimur Sikander Mirza, "500 Days in the Wild to world premiere at Whistler". Playback, November 1, 2023.
Commercial release is slated for June 2024.Charles-Henri Ramond, "Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles en salle le 21 juin". Films du Québec, March 18, 2024.
Awards Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival 2023 Grand Prix Hydro-Québec Lyne Charlebois "Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles remporte le 42e FCIAT". Ici Radio-Canada Première, November 3, 2023. Prix Iris December 8, 2024 Best Actress Mylène Mackay Éric Lavallée, "Prix Iris 2024: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Leads “Quebec Oscars” Noms". Ioncinema, October 9, 2024. Best Art Direction Yola Van Leeuwenkamp Best Costume Design Sophie Lefebvre Best Cinematography André Dufour Best Original Music Viviane Audet, Robin-Joël Cool, Alexis Martin Best Hairstyling Jean-Luc Lapierre, André Duval
References