Customer Reviews
Artistic theatre-style depiction of great tragedy. - By: Andrew, 19 Oct 2008 
An absorbing film. Very clever & unusually depicted story-telling. It wasn't obvious what the great drama was going to turn out to be & I was guessing who was who for quite some time. Surreal & very well acted drama which you can see was a stage play originally. The acting & lines are straight from the theatre. And of course the actors are playing out a drama "on stage" themselves. The "play within a play" has the tone, style & plot of classic tragedy -in a highly unusual setting - but then classic tragedy often has been so. Very well acted by all. This is real artistic fusion of cinema & theatre.
Beautiful and gripping movie - By: Guy Mannering, 27 Nov 2005 This is one of the most unusual & fascinating movies I've seenin recent years. It's 1952 & the gay inmates of a Canadian prison, aided & abetted by their chaplain, take the local bishop hostage & then enact before him an elaborate drama, complete with props & scenery, which is intended to confront him with a dark & shameful secret from his youthful past. If this all sounds a bit preposterous, it is, but don't worry. This is such an artful & mesmerising piece of cinema that disbelief is soon suspended & you are drawn into florid tale of love, betrayal & revenge which builds to a moving & devastating climax. You will even find yourself ignoring, or rather accepting, the fact that all the female roles are played, inevitably, by men. The lyrical dream-like atmosphere of the movie, suffused with menace & foreboding, is brilliantly sustained by the director & the actors, none of whom I'd heard of before, are outstanding. I guess you'd label this an arthouse movie, but I recommend it even to those who would normally shy away from this description.
Beautiful but bittersweet love story - By: , 18 Aug 2005 Bishop Bilodeau arrives at a prison to hear the confession of a dying man, Simon Doucet. Only to find out that though Simon is old, he is not dying. He is out for revenge.
The inmates of the prison begin to re-enact the events that took placein a Canadian town forty years earlier. Young Simon, Bilodeau & a third boy, Vallier, all attend the local Catholic school. Simon & Vallier arein love, & being watched by the resentful Bilodau. Then,in what transpires to be a turning point for everyone, the town is suddenly host to a glamorous Parisian woman, who arrivesin a hot air balloon.
When Simon realises just how much his relationship with Vallier will not be tolerated, he begins to be drawn to the Parisian guest not only as a way of quashing any further rumours about Vallier, but also as a means of escape from the town entirely.
Watching events unfold are Vallier's quirky mother & the jealous Bilodeau. Each knows how they want things to end, & eventually both try to influence the key players & help bring the tale to its equally heart-warming, & heartbreaking conclusion.
This is quite simply a wonderful film. The setting is beautiful & always slightly dreamy. The surroundings of the bishop & Simon as they watch the play continuously change & melt between a gorgeous Canadian autumn, & the stark but still poignant grey of the prison walls. To add to the slightly surreal feel of things, all the parts are played by men, the male inmates of the prison. Whilst this does make you blink when you realise Vallier's mother is a man, it doesn't detract or cheapenin any way the film. The women are believable & compelling to watch throughout.
The love story is the heart of the film. You feel for both Vallier & Simon as they try to keep up with what's happening around them. Though not sexually explicit (this is after all rated 15), the intensity of their feelings for each other cannot but captivate you. From the opening scene where they almost share a kiss, to one of their final scenes where they're surrounded by golden leaves, you are rooting for them to finally win some peace & tolerance. This film really is one not to be missed.
One of the best gay-themed films ever made! - By: T. Halkin, 15 Aug 2005 This beautiful film is so lyrical, it's almost like watching a poem. Everything about this film works: the script, the directing, the cast, the look. This film gives new meaning to the gay feature film genre.
Based on a play, Lilies retains a stage feeling as the premise is a play-within-a-play. Whereas the audience is not required to use it's imagination as much while watching the film as it was when watching the play, the film does require an open mind & the ability to suspend disbelief. If you allow it, Lilies will take you on a very special ride as seldom films do or can.
The chemistry between Jason Cadieux (a much under-used young actor) & Danny Gilmore (mainly known from French-Canadian television) is remarkable, making their tragic love-story all the more moving. Special mention needs to be made to Tony Award-winner, Brent Carver, who's portrayal of the delusional Countess De Tilly is the stuff that Oscars should be made of.
A stunning piece of film-making, which should not be missed!
