Borderline, the movie

While the rest of the world discussed Hilary Clinton's comeback, Anne C. and I stepped out to Cinema Beaubien to catch Borderline, the film adaptation of two novels by notable Québec writer Marie-Sissi Labrèche.

(How nice am I? In case you'd rather read about politics than movies, I've provided a handy link to an excellent article about Ms. Clinton.)

The three best reasons to see Borderline - other than admiring the always radiant Isabelle Blais as Kiki:

1. The layering of Kiki at different ages - sometimes Kiki-child, Kiki-aged-20 and Kiki-aged-30 share the same scene. The director layered their appearances perfectly, never once making it cheesy or sentimental. This technique was especially evocative because it reminded me that wherever we are, we carry the stories of our past with us, but that they don't have to define who we are today. It also pays homage to our responsibility to our past mistakes. As horrible as they may be, our mistakes belong uniquely to us and we must accept them in order to transform our actions today. Lesson learned.
2. The sex scene between Isabelle Blais and Pierre-Luc Brillant (oh, relax, I didn't ruin anything - you're told within the first few minutes of the movie that IB's character has slept with everyone in town. And their sisters.) The push and pull of bodies - of wills - was perfectly calibrated, totally believable and gut-wrenchingly genuine.
3. Pierre-Luc Brillant as the pastry chef/poet/would-be lover. I mistook PLB for IB's love interest in Les Aimants, a heartbreaking little movie that's "pas intelligent mais ça marche." It isn't the same actor, but both of them give off an achingly tender persona that makes the ladies swoon. See both performances. You'll get all woozy in the knees.

Happy movies... or politics.