Those Damned Savages (French: Les maudits sauvages) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Jean Pierre Lefebvre and released in 1971.[1] A satirical critique of colonialism, the film explores its thesis that racist attitudes toward First Nations have not changed through a narrative that places various real historical figures from the 17th century in modern-day Montreal.[2]

Those Damned Savages
FrenchLes maudits sauvages
Directed byJean Pierre Lefebvre
Written byJean Pierre Lefebvre
StarringRachel Cailhier
Pierre Dufresne
Nicole Filion
Luc Granger
CinematographyJean-Claude Labrecque
Edited byMarguerite Duparc
Music byWalter Boudreau
Production
company
Cinak
Distributed byFaroun Films
Release date
Running time
116 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

The film stars Rachel Cailhier as Tékacouita, a young Mohawk woman in New France who is taken to the city by coureur de bois Thomas Hébert (Pierre Dufresne) to work as a domestic servant, after being forcibly separated from her fiancé. In Montreal, Thomas forces Tékacouita to work as a go-go dancer in a nightclub, where she repeatedly deals with attempted sexual assault and other modern problems until her fiancé arrives to save her.[3]

The film's cast also includes Nicole Filion as Jeanne Mance, Luc Granger as abbé Frelaté and Marcel Sabourin as Jean Talon.[3]

The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight program at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN 1-894073-21-5. p. 217.
  2. ^ Jay Scott, "Lefebvre's deceptive simplicity". The Globe and Mail, May 22, 1982.
  3. ^ a b Bill Marshall, Quebec National Cinema. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001. ISBN 9780773521032. pp. 256-257.
  4. ^ "Cannes critics praise films from Quebec". The Globe and Mail, May 21, 1971.
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