"Rodrigue Jean gives voice to people who have nearly drowned. The story of their disaster and the lessons they have drawn from it make us think that life is born of water and flows somewhat like a river. We are born in a state something like a spring. This spring becomes a stream, we travel through forests, winding our way around obstacles to finally arrive at the river where our water merges with other water, like a new and clear consciousness. There is a proverb which states that great rivers are made up of small streams. In this way we all contribute to something that is greater than us and which carries us along to something even greater still."
Herménégilde Chiasson
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Commentary by Claire Valade, Film critic from Quebec
Even if not the result of a deliberate act of violence, death by drowning has an unspeakable, brutal violence of its own, both for those left behind and, as our imaginations vividly conjure, for the victim. Rodrigue Jean captures both the terror and fascination of water for those who live in symbiosis with it because of where or how they live; he also captures the painful memories and strange serenity that eventually emerges in its timeless presence. A beautiful piece that oddly echoes Comment vs dirais je? by Louis Dionne. Despite diametrically opposed styles and tones, the two films speak to one another, making it particularly interesting to watch them back to back.
