Tectonic Plates

Synopsis: Experimental film based on Robert Lepage’s 1988 stage play which explores the notion that human interaction is as volatile and as unpredictable as the shifting of the Earth. Madeleine (Marie Gignac) is an art student studying in Montreal who has fallen in love with her professor, Jacques (Lepage). One day he disappears and, fearing that he left because she was undeserving of his love, Madeleine travels to Venice to kill herself. While preparing to commit suicide, she encounters drug addict Constance (Celine Bonnier), who causes Madeleine to reconsider her decision. Meanwhile, Jacques has moved to New York City, where he starts cross-dressing, calls himself Jennifer, and becomes a successful counter-culture talk show host. Locations include Paris, Venice, Montreal, Manhattan and Scotland, supporting characters that include a topless goddess and a deaf/mute, and cultural references pointing to Chopin, George Sand, Jim Morrison, Oprah Winfrey and Shakespeare’s Ophelia.
Language: English
Country: Canada
Medium: Film; Television
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Year of release: 1992
Transmission details: 2 Jan 1993 at 22:25 (Channel: Channel Four)
Duration: 95 mins

Director

Peter Mettler

Producer

Debra Hauer; Niv Fichman

Cinematographer

Miroslaw Baszak

Writer

Robert Lepage

Cast

Notes: Spoken in English and French
The BFI National Archive holds a copy acquired as an off-air recording from the Channel 4 transmission.
History: The film opened in Canada in 1992 but was never released in the USA.