The Last Betrothal (French: Les dernières fiançailles) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Jean Pierre Lefebvre and released in 1973.[1] The film stars J. Léo Gagnon and Marthe Nadeau as Armand and Rose Tremblay, an elderly couple who have been married for fifty years and are living their final days together as Armand is terminally ill; however, Rose has secretly vowed to die at the same time as Armand, so that she will never have to live without him.[2]

The Last Betrothal
FrenchLes dernières fiançailles
Directed byJean Pierre Lefebvre
Written byJean-Pierre Lefebvre
Produced byMarguerite Duparc
Bernard Lalonde
StarringJ. Léo Gagnon
Marthe Nadeau
Marcel Sabourin
CinematographyGuy Dufaux
Edited byMarguerite Duparc
Music byAndrée Paul
Production
companies
Productions Prisma
Cinak
Distributed byCinema Libre
Release date
  • December 14, 1973 (1973-12-14)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

The cast also includes Marcel Sabourin as Armand's doctor.

The film opened theatrically in December 1973.[3]

It was screened in the Directors Fortnight program at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival,[4] and was the 1974 winner of the Prix de l'Organisation catholique internationale du cinéma for the best film on spiritual and religious themes.[3] It was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Front & Centre, a retrospective program of important films from throughout Canadian film history.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN 1-894073-21-5. p. 122.
  2. ^ Lieve Spaas, Francophone Film: A Struggle for Identity. Manchester University Press, 2000. ISBN 9780719058615. p. 90.
  3. ^ a b Charles-Henri Ramond, "Dernières fiançailles, Les – Film de Jean Pierre Lefebvre". Films du Québec, January 3, 2009.
  4. ^ Betty Lee, "Cannes' high hand thwarts Canadian film game plan". The Globe and Mail, May 4, 1974.
  5. ^ Jay Scott, "Mon Oncle Antoine No. 1 with critics". The Globe and Mail, August 2, 1984.
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