Reviews: Québexit for Cinefest Sudbury 2020

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With Brexit negotiations going on for several years, with no end in sight as costs balloon to over the cost of the International Space Station and no amount of small details that “Leave” voters just simply didn’t think about when they voted in favour by a margin of 51.89-48.11%, it has been ripe for comedy since 2016. In the last Canadian election a growing number of Western separtist movements popped up something that has been bubbling under the surface in Quebec for decades now.

Québexit, directed and written by Joshua Demers and co-written by stars Gail Maurice (Meetos) and Xavier Yuvens (Lt. Hassan) proposes what would happen if Quebec had a third, and finally successful referendum to leave Canada, creating their own republic. The vote occurs when an Alberta pipeline is proposed to run through to New Brunswick and disparate Quebecers finally have enough. Two rival border stops pop up populated by Canadian armed forces and the newly created Quebec Army. As they try to follow orders while provoking the other side tensions rise, making the simply checkpoint that allows everyone through to forcing people to produce Quebec or Canadian documents to travel from Quebec to “fucking New Brunswick”.

Essentially each scene ups the tension as the units bumble their way through diplomacy that they are ill equipped to offer. To make matters much more interesting, two Mi’kmaq sisters are passing through the border highlighting the absurdity of two groups of colonists fighting over land they are claiming is theirs. The film shifts between English, French and Cree sometimes in the same sentences by multiple characters. The absurd parallels we are seeing in the UK (how can Northern Ireland have a hard border with Ireland, when the last time that happened there was violence beyond comprehension mirrors Quebec’s separatist movement of the 70’s) makes for great comedy.

Unfortunately as the film goes on and the camera lingers on secondary characters, too much improv is allowed to occur losing the steam, and edge, the film had going for it. For Canadian history buffs this film has plenty going for it including plenty of digs towards the FLQ, Meech Lake Accord, McGill, New Brunswick and of course Toronto. If this film was only 60 minutes instead of 80, it would be a fantastic comedy special that hits on a lot of truth, instead of checking your watch to see how much is left. 

Québexit was seen during the 2020 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival. Thank you to the festival for the press pass. Québexit currently has no distribution deal.