Man vs woman. Misogyny vs feminism. Gender warfare. Denis Villeneuve's Polytechnique doesn't try to make sense of the seemingly never-ending battle of the sexes. His film is simply about the way such hostility directed towards the opposite gender threatens to destroy the humanity that connects us all. It's sad, tragic,
and as objective as a film of this kind can be.The shooter: This nameless young student writes a letter condemning the feminist movement and how it's a propaganda tool to repress males. He decides to take his own life but not before taking out as many women as he can. He enters his school - a Montreal engineering tech school - armed with a rifle and many bullets. The film doesn't take his side, but it forces you to see his point of view, no matter skewed it might be.The victims: A young female student, Valerie meticulously preps herself for an internship. Her obsession over looking good suggests a vain attempt to manipulate the way her interviewer sees her, one that is quickly subverted when the male interviewing her makes sexist comments. And later, she, along with several other young women at her school are shot simply because they are women in the wrong place at the wrong time.The hero: Jean-Francois sees the shooter and several women being shot. He takes it upon himself to help as many of the wounded as he can. But as the year's go by, he's still traumatized by the incident, despite not even being fired upon.The aftermath: At the heart of Polytechnique isn't an examination into sexism or a psycho-analysis as to why this happened. It's an account of personal tragedy, how prejudice - in this case, prejudice between the sexes - destroys lives. It's a deeply personal, moving, and gripping masterpiece.
November 25, 2011
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