Violence and Uncertainty on the French-Canadian Margins: The Films of Denis Côté

Although his films have not garnered the same level of popular success in Quebec and Hollywood recognition as those of “new generation” directors Philippe Falardeau, Jean-Marc Vallee, or Denis Villeneuve, Denis Cote’s unique body of work has earned him praise from local film critics and on the international art film circuit. This essay examines how his films, notably Les etats nordiques/Drifting States (2005), Elle veut le chaos/All That She Wants (2008), Carcasses (2009), Curling (2010), Vic + Flo ont vu un ours/Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (2013), and Boris sans Beatrice/Boris without Beatrice (2014), explore the tensions between center and periphery in francophone Canadian cultures. Their marginal settings, idiosyncratic characters, and open-ended narratives featuring violence and uncertainty represent the threat posed by the hegemonic forces of urbanization and globalization and their impact on individuals living in cultural conditions of exiguity.