Leolo

1992

Leolo

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

90%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 10

89%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 5,622

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Movie Info

Jean-Claude Lauzon's highly praised film tells the strange story of Léolo, a young boy from Montréal. Told from Léolo's point-of-view, the film depicts his family of lunatics and Léolo's attempts to deal with them. Not one individual in the boy's life is well adjusted. His brother, after being beaten up, spends the film bulking up on growth protein. The grandfather hires half-naked girls to bite off his toenails and, in a brutal rage, almost kills Léolo. As he witnesses his family decay around him, Léolo retreats into himself and the fantasy world he has constructed. In response to the weirdness of his daily life, Léolo creates a little mental mayhem of his own which Lauzon renders in an amazing series of free-form, surreal images. Eventually, this precarious balance of reality and fantasy cracks and Léolo is hospitalized after attempting to murder his grandfather. The score by Tom Waits underscores the narrative arc of Léolo's breakdown. On its release, the film won numerous awards including the International Fantasy Film Award for Best Director (1992) and a Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay (1992).

Cast

Maxime Collin
as Leolo
Ginette Reno
as Mother
Julien Guiomar
as Grandfather
Yves Montmarquette
as Fernand
Roland Blouin
as Father
Giuditta Del Vecchio
as Bianca
Giudetta Del Vecchio
as Bianca
Andree Lachapelle
as Psychiatrist
Denys Arcand
as Career Counselor
Germain Houde
as Teacher
Germaine Houde
as Teacher
Lorne Brass
as Fernand's Enemy
Genevieve Samson
as Rita
Gilbert Sicotte
as Narrator
Marie-Helene Montpetit
as Nanette
Jacques Marcotte
as Fisher
Francis Saint-Onge
as Leolo (age 6)
Karen Murphy
Alex Nadeau
as Fernand (age 16)
Pierre Bourgault
as The Word Tamer
Louis Grenier
as Gynecologist
Richard Guevremont
as Geography Teacher
Eric Cadorette
as Little Godin
Aron Tager
as Fishmonger
Luc Seguin
as Latourelle
Simon Gosselin
as Paquette
Luc Proulx
as Fisher
Catherine Lemieux
as Regina
Nick Fasano
as Italian Salesman
Jade Landry Cuerrier
as Young Nanette
Magalie Beauregard
as Young Ria
Simon Lavigne
as Baby
Amedeo Carlo Mangiu
as Tommaso
Maria Petraglia
as Contadina
Salvator Giuffrida
as Umberto
Mikael Baillarge-Lafontaine
as Diver
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Critic Reviews for Leolo

All Critics (10) | Top Critics (3)

View All Critic Reviews (10)

Audience Reviews for Leolo

  • Apr 25, 2010
    Canadian boy comes of age in nutty family. A strange film, a bit like watching something by a sedated Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with a heartbreaking ending. From RHADYNASCIMENTO's favourites list
    Lesley N Super Reviewer
  • Oct 16, 2009
    Just could not get into this movie & after falling asleep a couple times, I just gave up & turned it off
    Brody M Super Reviewer
  • Nov 07, 2008
    Leolo was the second and final film from the French Canadian Jean-Claude Lauzon, who tragically died in a plane crash before making another film. This is a very hard film to describe, it?s sort of an absurdist journey through the mind of a mischievous youth. This kid, the title character is not a reliable narrator; in fact he makes up all kinds of crazy stuff. It?s apparently a fairly autobiographical film, except it?s told expressionistically rather than literally. The film is fairly episodic, it just goes through a number of the strangely perceived events in the kid?s life. It?s a hard movie to wrap your head around and a hard film to comment on without further study. It didn?t blow me away, but I definitely dug it.
    MJS M Super Reviewer
  • Jul 21, 2008
    For a movie where defecating and masturbation have a surprising amount of screen time, this is a very whimsical and funny story about a dysfunctional family just trying to make it out alive. The script does a very good job of showing the world through the eyes of a young boy, accurately capturing the desperate nature with which we try to make sense of the world.
    Quinto W Super Reviewer
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