The film was inspired by Laganière’s own personal story, of the inevitable estrangement of her mother, whose memory is slowly being consumed by Alzheimer’s disease. This “anticipated separation” serves as a bridge to the film’s other subjects as they pursue their own personal quests: Ines, an immigrant who returns to her country of birth, Croatia, to find the mother who abandoned her; Deni, an American author who is finally able to search for his Quebec roots; and Nathalie, who is desperately looking for her missing sister. Through their stories, Absences explores the deepest regions of the psyche, where our sense …
The film was inspired by Laganière’s own personal story, of the inevitable estrangement of her mother, whose memory is slowly being consumed by Alzheimer’s disease. This “anticipated separation” serves as a bridge to the film’s other subjects as they pursue their own personal quests: Ines, an immigrant who returns to her country of birth, Croatia, to find the mother who abandoned her; Deni, an American author who is finally able to search for his Quebec roots; and Nathalie, who is desperately looking for her missing sister. Through their stories, Absences explores the deepest regions of the psyche, where our sense of loss and resiliency co-exist.
Convient parfaitement aux dissertations et aux débats sur la mémoire et sur l’histoire familiale.
Quels parallèles la cinéaste établit-elle entre les diverses histoires relatées dans le film? Que nous révèle-t-elle au sujet de la mémoire dans le récit portant sur la démence de sa mère? Retracez l’histoire de votre famille en remontant jusqu’à la troisième génération. Déterminez les lacunes que comporte cette histoire. Rédigez une histoire au sujet d’un proche imaginaire dont la famille aurait depuis longtemps perdu la trace. Au moyen d’un texte écrit ou d’une présentation visuelle, racontez l’histoire d’une absence survenue dans votre vie.