LE CONFESSIONAL

LE CONFESSIONAL opens in Quebec City in 1989 as Pierre returns for his father’s funeral. His adopted brother, Marc, is obsessed with the identity of his birth father, a secret which died with the death of his mother. At 16, Rachel, Marc’s mother, became pregnant while working in a presbytery. Prior to her suicide, she sought forgiveness from a young priest at a confessional. Pierre learns that Marc is prostituting himself. Pierre confronts his brother and attempts to help him face his fears of his unknown past. He hopes to help Marc learn the identity of his father and thus bring freedom to Marc’s life. Together, the brothers retrace the steps Marc’s mother may have taken. Unable to locate the priest who heard Rachel’s confession, Marc reluctantly returns to his previous lifestyle.

Marc’s desperate attempts to find the truth about his past are agonizing, as one pities the hopelessness of his present lifestyle. Homosexuality is not glorified in the movie. In fact, it is actually depicted with a mournful realness. The Director, Robert LePage, describes modern Quebec society as “haunted by the ghosts from the past as it wanders through a present existence of rootless amorality.” Indeed, this film shows through stark realism, the hurt and pain of amoral lifestyles through implied homosexual sex, foul language and substance abuse.