Screen/Society--Quebec Cinema Series--"Heartbeats (Les Amours Imaginaires)"

"Heartbeats" (Xavier Dolan, 2010, 95 min, Canada, French w/ subtitles, Color, 35mm) Xavier Dolan's sexy and stylish HEARTBEATS is a comic exploration of a romantically obsessed menage-a-trois. Part farce, part exploration of the complexity of love and desire, the film centers on two close friends, Francis (Xavier Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri), who find themselves fighting for the affections of the same striking young man (Niels Schneider). The more intimate the trio becomes, the more unattainable the object of their infatuation seems, sending the friends' obsession into overdrive. Critics and audiences alike praised this second feature film by the twenty-something director of the smash 2009 hit I KILLED MY MOTHER. A hit at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Youth Prize, HEARTBEATS was also shown at the Toronto, London and Rotterdam Film Festivals. It received four Canadian Genie Awards, and was the winner of the Jutra Award for the most successful film outside of Québec.