Emporte-moi (Set Me Free)
2001.07.21, 18:15

The year is 1963. Thirteen-year-old Hanna lives in Montreal with her brother, her Catholic mother, and her Jewish immigrant father, an unknown poet. Hanna's parents are deeply in love, but her mother is exhausted from trying to put food on the table while supporting her husband's creative activities. Hanna, in an attempt to escape her parent's bickering and a complex home environment, seeks the sanctuary of the movie theatre. After seeing Jean Luc Godard'sVivre sa vie, Hanna longs for the wild, uninhibited life of the prostitute character, portrayed by Anna Karina. Before she knows it, Hanna has fallen for a woman teacher at her school who resembles the actress.

Set Me Free is a semi-autobiographical work by Lea Pool, director of Lost and Delirious, a hit at this year's Berlin Film Festival. Karine Vanasse debuts with this skillful portrayal of an adolescent girl discovering the joys and pain of love as she grows up, and Pascale Bussieres (When Night is Falling) is not to be missed as Hanna's mother.

Sponsored by the Embassy of Canada,
Délégation géneral du Quebec à Tokyo