| The Cat in the Bag | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Gilles Groulx |
| Producer: | Jacques Bobet |
| Starring: | Barbara Ulrich Jean V. Dufresne Jean-Paul Bernier Manon Blain André Leblanc Véronique Vilbert |
| Music: | John Coltrane |
| Cinematography: | Jean-Claude Labrecque |
| Editing: | Gilles Groulx |
| Studio: | National Film Board of Canada |
| Distributor: | Pathé Contemporary Films Impact Films (US, subtitled) |
| Runtime: | 74 minutes |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | French |
| Budget: | $45,982 |
The Cat in the Bag (fr|Le chat dans le sac) is a 1964 drama film by Gilles Groulx, which played a seminal role in the development of Quebec cinema. The film's themes, improvisational style, hand-held camera work and evocative music signalled the emergence of a new generation of Quebec films and filmmakers.[1]
The film has mixed Direct Cinema documentary techniques and distancing devices similar to those employed by Jean-Luc Godard. The film tells the story of a young man's struggles to be accepted in Quebec society and Quebec's place in Canada. The protagonist, a journalist played by, struggles with the question of whether to change society or accept it the way it is. He has a partner who is an American girl, an actress who runs a theater, but does not share the troubles and struggles with him. Claude leaves Montreal for the Quebec countryside to reflect on his life, and with the distance between them, their love fades.[2]
In 1963, Gilles Groulx presented Grant McLean, the director of production at the National Film Board, with a film outline that did not even fill an entire page. The film was shot on a budget of $45,982 .
Critic Robert Daudelin stated: "At last we were confronted by a film which really belonged to us, one in which we were happy to recognize ourselves and see ourselves close up. [It] was (and remains) the image of our most recent awakenings".
It received the Grand Prix at the 1964 Montreal International Film Festival.[3] Le Chat dans le sac was identified as a "culturally significant film" by the AV Preservation Trust through the 2002 Masterworks programme.[1] [4] It was screened at the 18th Berlin Film Festival in 1968 as part of Young Canadian Film, a lineup of films by emerging Canadian filmmakers.[5]
It was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Front & Centre, a special retrospective program of artistically and culturally significant films from throughout the history of Canadian cinema.[6]