Mon Oncle Antoine (1971), directed by Claude Jutra is on the surface a simple tale of a small mining town. Specifically an asbestos mining town, connecting it thematically to one of the events that precipitated the Quiet Revolution in Quebec: the asbestos miners' strike of 1949.
The dark ages, during which the film is set, were an important part of Quebec's history. According to Bélanger (2000) they were typified by social conservatism, messianism, agriculturalism, and anti-statism.
Jos and Agriculturalism
In the film, Jos Poulin represents the rejection of agriculturalism. Jos, unable to find pleasure in any of the traditional Quebec jobs, ends up quitting every one he has. An early scene is rich with revolutionary meaning. Leach (1999) describes the scene as follows:
At the end of the quarrel between Jos and the foreman, the camera zooms in on the mountain of waste from the mine, and there is a sudden cut to a body in a coffin. A few moments later, a cut juxtaposes the coffin with bottles of beer on a table in a tavern. After Jos has declared his intention of quitting his job at the mine, another zoom brings the parish church into focus through the tavern window. (p. 127)
By juxtaposing the mine and the coffin, Jutra is condemning the traditional mining job that can only lead to death. Further juxtaposing the coffin with beer indicates that hedonistic pleasure is not a solution. In the new Quebec one must work hard, but at new tasks. Finally, showing the church after Jos speaks negatively of his mining job taints it with the same negativity. Rejecting religion is entirely in line with the ideals of the Quiet Revolution
Forgetting the Past
Scenes involving religion are often negative, as in the scene where Benoit witnesses the pastor sneaking sacramental wine. In fact, Benoit’s faith in the adults around him is often tested.
When the mine's owner parades through the town, delivering paltry gifts to its residents, the dissonance between the people and the career they are forced to pursue is underlined. The audience is aware of the asbestos strike, and this adds power to the townspeople's silence. But Benoit is not so timid. Snowball in hand, he strikes the first blow of the revolution: right on the owner's head.
Further youthful disillusionment with adults is shown in the climactic scene in which Benoit and his titular uncle are to retrieve the body of Jos' dead son.
Benoit is repulsed by his uncle's callousness toward the dead boy’s mother. Antoine cares only for his stomach. His respect for his uncle falling, Benoit takes the horse's reigns on the trip home, while his drunken uncle sleeps. Triumphal music indicates his excitement at being in control.
His moment of joyful exuberance is brought to a halt when the dead boy’s coffin falls from the sleigh. Antoine is drunk beyond help. Benoit orders his uncle to help lift the coffin back onto the sleigh.
A Future Revolution
Unfortunately, just as the people of Quebec were not yet ready for revolution, the time for Benoit's own revolution was not yet at hand. Benoit is unable to exert his will on the situation, and with Antoine too drunk to stand, the coffin must be left where it fell. A symbolic abandonment of the death inherent to the traditional way of life, along with a signifier that change must come slowly.
Mon Oncle Antoine is a film about revolution. It is also about a boy's coming of age. And finally, it is about a man who cannot escape the world in which he lives.
References
Green, M. J. (Spring-Summer 2003). Toward defining a postcolonial Quebec cinema: The films of
Claude Jutra. Quebec Studies, 35, 89-100.
Leach, J. (1999). Claude Jutra: Filmmaker. Quebec City: McGill-Queen’s Press.
Bélanger, C. (2000, August) Quebec History. Retrieved November 16, 2008, from Marianopolis College website http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory
Beaudet, Marc (Producer), & Jutra, Claude (Director). (1971). Mon Oncle Antoine [DVD]. The Criterion Collection.
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