Jacques Godbout

Directing

Jacques Godbout

Born 1933-11-27 · Montréal, Québec, Canada

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, Godbout was made an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston for "his significant contributions to the literary arts and critical thinking for more than half a century." His other awards and recognition include: Chevalier of the National Order of Quebec; Ludger-Duvernay Prize (1973); Awarded the 2007 Prix Maurice Genevoix for La concierge du Panthéon; Nominated for a 1997 Governor General's Award for children's literature for Une leçon de chasse; Winner of the Quebec government's Prix Athanase-David in 1985; Prix Belgique-Canada (1978); Winner of the 1967 Governor General's Award for Fiction for Salut Galarneau. Source: Article "Jacques Godbout" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Acting credits

From Office to Box-Office poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

From Office to Box-Office

2009

The Private Life of Cinema poster
NR

A two-part in-depth exploration of the evolution of the private film industry, seen through the eyes of more than 50 industry professionals. Part One (1939-1979) : Artists and professionals from the social and commercial film sectors recount the struggle to build a film industry that is privately operated yet publicly funded. Part Two (1980-2010) : Executives, policymakers, and industry professionals trace the origins of the major funding institutions and discuss the unintended consequences of building a cultural industry around performance metrics, revenue generation, and private profit.

The Private Life of Cinema

2011

The Mob poster
7.1

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 forbidden local criminals from taking the assignment. Upon his return, Chico discovers he is being pursued from all sides, prompting an unlikely response: he calls a local talk radio show and starts revealing the mafia’s most carefully guarded secrets. As his revelations get more shocking, so do the tactics of his adversaries, culminating in a devastating gut punch of a finale.

The Mob

1975

The Black Sheep poster
7.5

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 at an impasse after a long and ultimately fruitless negotiation, various social and political actors spoke out. Their comments, linked to film clips on the lives of important Canadian politicians (Sir Georges-Étienne Cartier, John A. Macdonald, Louis-Joseph Papineau...), draw parallels between the speeches of yesterday and those of the post-Meech era.

The Black Sheep

1992

Cinéma, cinéma poster
7.0

An anthology of sequences from the best films that the National Film Board of Canada produced since its beginnings. Divided by themes and presented by a trio of actors-signers (including Carle's wife Chloé Sainte-Marie) who sings the same song in between the movie excerpts. This movie celebrated the anniversary of the National Film Board in 1985.

Cinéma, cinéma

1985

Behind the camera

IXE-13 poster
5.8

A first-rate French-Canadian spy must tangle with a female Chinese spy who is in love with him.

IXE-13

1972

IXE-13 poster
5.8

A first-rate French-Canadian spy must tangle with a female Chinese spy who is in love with him.

IXE-13

1972

The Fate of America poster
10.0

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 Georges Savarin de Marestan and Andrew Wolfe-Burroughs, direct descendants of Montcalm and Wolfe, both of whom died in the battle that would give birth to Canada and to the province of Quebec.

The Fate of America

1997

The Fate of America poster
10.0

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 Georges Savarin de Marestan and Andrew Wolfe-Burroughs, direct descendants of Montcalm and Wolfe, both of whom died in the battle that would give birth to Canada and to the province of Quebec.

The Fate of America

1997

Les « troubbes » de Johnny poster
8.0

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.

Les « troubbes » de Johnny

1974

Derrière l'image poster
7.0

This feature-length documentary analyzes television newscasts and, as a result, takes a look at the news industry as a whole. By tackling five major themes – the script, the stars, the show, the actors and telecracy – it elucidates and demystifies certain aspects of television news, the bearer of daily news and guarantor of a certain image of reality.

Derrière l'image

1978

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Les héritiers du mouton noir

2003

The Mob poster
7.1

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 forbidden local criminals from taking the assignment. Upon his return, Chico discovers he is being pursued from all sides, prompting an unlikely response: he calls a local talk radio show and starts revealing the mafia’s most carefully guarded secrets. As his revelations get more shocking, so do the tactics of his adversaries, culminating in a devastating gut punch of a finale.

The Mob

1975

The Mob poster
7.1

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 forbidden local criminals from taking the assignment. Upon his return, Chico discovers he is being pursued from all sides, prompting an unlikely response: he calls a local talk radio show and starts revealing the mafia’s most carefully guarded secrets. As his revelations get more shocking, so do the tactics of his adversaries, culminating in a devastating gut punch of a finale.

The Mob

1975

Strangers for the Day poster
NR

This short documentary shows the reactions of European immigrants as they land in Halifax at the beginning of the 1960s. From the port, we follow them on a snowy journey by train to Montreal.

Strangers for the Day

1962

Strangers for the Day poster
NR

This short documentary shows the reactions of European immigrants as they land in Halifax at the beginning of the 1960s. From the port, we follow them on a snowy journey by train to Montreal.

Strangers for the Day

1962

The Black Sheep poster
7.5

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 at an impasse after a long and ultimately fruitless negotiation, various social and political actors spoke out. Their comments, linked to film clips on the lives of important Canadian politicians (Sir Georges-Étienne Cartier, John A. Macdonald, Louis-Joseph Papineau...), draw parallels between the speeches of yesterday and those of the post-Meech era.

The Black Sheep

1992

Fabienne sans son Jules poster
10.0

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.

Fabienne sans son Jules

1964

Fabienne sans son Jules poster
10.0

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.

Fabienne sans son Jules

1964

Last Resort poster
9.0

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 humanity and decide to mete out their own justice. Part reportage, part essay and part critical analysis of the phenomenon, this film includes first-hand accounts by Serge Daoust, Franco Piperno, François Schirm, Pierre Vallières and young militants from the journal Révoltes.

Last Resort

1987

Anne Hébert, 1916-2000 poster
9.0

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 French-language writers, with books such as Kamouraska, Les fous de Bassan and Le tombeau des rois.

Anne Hébert, 1916-2000

2000

Anne Hébert, 1916-2000 poster
9.0

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 French-language writers, with books such as Kamouraska, Les fous de Bassan and Le tombeau des rois.

Anne Hébert, 1916-2000

2000

Traitor or Patriot poster
8.0

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, giving women the vote, creating Hydro-Québec and trying to free the province from domination by the clergy. Yet, during the conscription crisis, he favoured sending volunteers to fight Hitler: a sin for which many would never forgive him. Filmmaker Jacques Godbout takes a fresh look at his great-uncle's legacy.

Traitor or Patriot

2000

Traitor or Patriot poster
8.0

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, giving women the vote, creating Hydro-Québec and trying to free the province from domination by the clergy. Yet, during the conscription crisis, he favoured sending volunteers to fight Hitler: a sin for which many would never forgive him. Filmmaker Jacques Godbout takes a fresh look at his great-uncle's legacy.

Traitor or Patriot

2000

No artwork available
NR

What are the relationships between Californian New Age and Quebec practices? We take an overview of California and its major trends which influence currents of thought throughout the world, and more particularly in Quebec. The New Age is a convenient label that brings together proponents of "new" therapies and those of "workouts", meditators and computer radicals. It may be that Quebec is only the outpost of the conquests of a new civilization which sells us on the one hand its computer technology and on the other hand its philosophy as instructions.

Comme en Californie

Two Episodes from the Life of Hubert Aquin poster
9.0

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.

Two Episodes from the Life of Hubert Aquin

1979

Feu l'objectivité poster
9.0

Investigation into political journalism in Quebec. Mainly focusing on English-speaking journalists in the press gallery at the National Assembly and their perception of current events, Godbout argues that the sense of objectivity in journalism is above all a question of culture.

Feu l'objectivité

1979

Alias Will James poster
8.0

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 keep his secret. And when he took up the pen, he became a Hollywood legend. Watch this compelling exploration of the powerful attraction the West still holds for young adventurers.

Alias Will James

1988

Alias Will James poster
8.0

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 keep his secret. And when he took up the pen, he became a Hollywood legend. Watch this compelling exploration of the powerful attraction the West still holds for young adventurers.

Alias Will James

1988