A small town in the American South, just before the first light of dawn. A policeman on horseback approaches a homeless black man who’s sleeping in the street. The old man is beaten down by misery and drugs. He berates the cop furiously, rattling off a litany of injustices his ancestors suffered at the hands of white people. The policeman only wants one thing: to arrest the man and put him in jail for the rest of the night. What right does this old man have to harangue him? After all, doesn’t a police officer represent the order to which all citizens are subject? Then a transvestite happens by, on the way home from a bar. He tries to reason with the policeman. When he sees the cop reach for his holstered gun, he shields the homeless man with his body. He tells himself the cop would never dare shoot a poor, defenceless man. But is he really sure? This is an America scarred by social inequality, racial injustice and war wounds. Marie-Claire Blais’ powerful, inimitable style shines brightly in this ode to cultural and sexual difference. As always, she is perfectly in tune with her time.

RECEPTION