Jacques Godbout
Jacques Godbout, OC, CQ (born November 27, 1933) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler (touche-à-tout), Godbout has become one of the most important writers of his generation, with a major influence on post-1960 Quebec intellectual life. Born in Montreal, Quebec, after studies at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf and the Université de Montréal, Godbout taught French in Ethiopia before joining the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as producer and scriptwriter in 1958. He was active during Quebec's Quiet Revolution during which time he wrote a number of penetrating essays, the most important of which were collected in Le Réformiste (1975) and Le Murmure marchand (1984). Godbout was a co-founder of Liberté (1959), the Mouvement laïque de la langue française (1962) and the Union des écrivains Québécois (1977). Godbout's films include four full-length features and more than 15 documentaries. He has also written nine novels for adults and two for children. Godbout currently writes a monthly column in the Quebec newsmagazine L'actualité. Godbout lives in Outremont, a former city now in Montreal. He is the grand-nephew of former Quebec Premier Adélard Godbout. Godbout's novel Une histoire américaine (1986) was chosen for inclusion in the French version of Canada Reads, broadcast on Radio-Canada in 2004, where it was championed by trade-union activist and professor Gérald Larose. On June 30, 2016 ...
The Black Sheep (1992)
From coast to coast, from St. John's, Newfoundland to Vancouver, British Columbia, Jacques Godbout films a documentary chronicle of the political turnaround that was to follow the Meech Lake Accord. Following the Meech referendum, Quebec and Canada found themselves ... (more)
From coast to coast, from St. John's, Newfoundland to Vancouver, British Columbia, Jacques Godbout films a documentary chronicle of the political turnaround that was to follow the Meech Lake Accord. Following the Meech referendum, Quebec and Canada found themselves ... (more)
Alias Will James (1988)
This feature-length documentary tells the incredible story of Ernest Dufault, a.k.a. Will James, a French-Canadian man who became one of the most legendary cowboys of the American West. For over 30 years, as he went from cattle rustler to ex-convict, he managed to ... (more)
This feature-length documentary tells the incredible story of Ernest Dufault, a.k.a. Will James, a French-Canadian man who became one of the most legendary cowboys of the American West. For over 30 years, as he went from cattle rustler to ex-convict, he managed to ... (more)
Anne Hébert, 1916-2000 (2000)
Jacques Godbout takes us into the world of Anne Hébert, a woman he considered his spiritual sister and who had only one raison d’être: literature. During the four decades of her creative process, this Quebecois poet and novelist rose to the ranks of the greatest ... (more)
Jacques Godbout takes us into the world of Anne Hébert, a woman he considered his spiritual sister and who had only one raison d’être: literature. During the four decades of her creative process, this Quebecois poet and novelist rose to the ranks of the greatest ... (more)
YUL 871 (1966)
An engineer from Paris flies to Montreal, partly on business, partly in search of parents displaced by World War II, and partly because of the prevailing restlessness of the age. (more)
An engineer from Paris flies to Montreal, partly on business, partly in search of parents displaced by World War II, and partly because of the prevailing restlessness of the age. (more)
Kid Sentiment (1968)
Between fiction and documentary, Jacques Godbout's feature film takes a critical look at the Quebecois youth of the 1960s. Kid Sentiment, it is the adolescent who says no to tenderness because it is embarrassing. On the theme of amorous initiation, the camera ... (more)
Between fiction and documentary, Jacques Godbout's feature film takes a critical look at the Quebecois youth of the 1960s. Kid Sentiment, it is the adolescent who says no to tenderness because it is embarrassing. On the theme of amorous initiation, the camera ... (more)
Canuxploitation musical spy comedy. (more)
The Mob (1975)
Seasoned drug smuggler and thief François “Chico” Tremblay is tired of his modest lifestyle. Given the opportunity to earn $50,000 killing a prominent New York City gangster, he leaps at the opportunity, ignoring the warnings of Montreal’s leading mob boss, who has ... (more)
Seasoned drug smuggler and thief François “Chico” Tremblay is tired of his modest lifestyle. Given the opportunity to earn $50,000 killing a prominent New York City gangster, he leaps at the opportunity, ignoring the warnings of Montreal’s leading mob boss, who has ... (more)
Two Episodes from the Life of Hubert Aquin (1979)
Documentary on the life of Hubert Aquin. Alive, he was a dazzling and extraordinary character. Dead, he is already legendary. From his legend, everything is both true and false. Neither biography nor critical work, this film is an evocation of his universe. (more)
Documentary on the life of Hubert Aquin. Alive, he was a dazzling and extraordinary character. Dead, he is already legendary. From his legend, everything is both true and false. Neither biography nor critical work, this film is an evocation of his universe. (more)
Last Resort (1987)
This feature length documentary by Jacques Godbout tackles a topic all too rarely explored in the media: terrorism in Canadian society. From Montreal to Vancouver, and Quebec City to Toronto, exasperated individuals find a new calling as self-style saviours of ... (more)
This feature length documentary by Jacques Godbout tackles a topic all too rarely explored in the media: terrorism in Canadian society. From Montreal to Vancouver, and Quebec City to Toronto, exasperated individuals find a new calling as self-style saviours of ... (more)
Les « troubbes » de Johnny (1974)
A pleasant fantasy about the setbacks experienced by a young man who loves costumes. His wife having left him, he goes after her to live some rather funny adventures. (more)
A pleasant fantasy about the setbacks experienced by a young man who loves costumes. His wife having left him, he goes after her to live some rather funny adventures. (more)
The Fate of America (1997)
Two well-known Quebec artists (filmmaker Jacques Godbout and playwright René-Daniel Dubois) look at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Whose version of this historic event should prevail? Is history best served by documentary or fiction? We also meet Baron ... (more)
Two well-known Quebec artists (filmmaker Jacques Godbout and playwright René-Daniel Dubois) look at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Whose version of this historic event should prevail? Is history best served by documentary or fiction? We also meet Baron ... (more)
Traitor or Patriot (2000)
This feature documentary is a portrait of Adélard Godbout, the largely forgotten man who was Premier of Quebec from 1939 to 1944. During his office, Godbout helped lay the groundwork for the Quiet Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s: instituting compulsory education, ... (more)
This feature documentary is a portrait of Adélard Godbout, the largely forgotten man who was Premier of Quebec from 1939 to 1944. During his office, Godbout helped lay the groundwork for the Quiet Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s: instituting compulsory education, ... (more)
Fabienne sans son Jules (1964)
She is a nightclub entertainer, in her way a highly successful exponent of her art, but there are moments when the admiration of her Montréal following is not enough. 'Fabienne' is the portrait of a woman who, having achieved enviable fame, is still far from content. (more)
She is a nightclub entertainer, in her way a highly successful exponent of her art, but there are moments when the admiration of her Montréal following is not enough. 'Fabienne' is the portrait of a woman who, having achieved enviable fame, is still far from content. (more)