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47-573: With a story developed by Lauzon as a semi-autobiographical work, the project was supported by producer Lyse Lafontaine as a co-production with France . Filming took place in Montreal and Sicily in 1991. It was Lauzon's final film, as he died in a plane crash in 1997 while working on his next project. Initially released in the 1992 Cannes Film Festival , Léolo won three Genie Awards , including Best Original Screenplay for Lauzon, losing Best Motion Picture to Naked Lunch . It later benefited from

94-494: A bizarre, occasionally upsetting film, but its underlying portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man theme couldn't be more classic". David Denby of New York magazine panned the film as "the most maladroit film I've seen in ages". In 2005, Time magazine named Léolo one of Time's All-TIME 100 Movies . That year, Ebert added it to his Great Movies list, writing on "the deep amusement and even love that Lauzon conveys in his material". Ebert also said "The technical brilliance of

141-424: A bully and failed in a special education class, builds up impressive muscles. The Word Tamer, continuously monitoring Léolo's thoughts, reads of the boy's hopes for how Fernand's muscles will make them invincible. However, upon being confronted by the bully for a second time, Fernand is overwhelmed with fear and is beaten again while Léolo watches in shock. Finally convinced his grandfather is responsible for all of

188-582: A film with feeling. She kept it as a cherished keepsake. Working with Dolan, she produced Laurence Anyways (2012) and served as an associate producer for Mommy (2014). Dolan's Laurence Anyways was inspired by Lafontaine's ex-girlfriend Luce Baillairgé, the mother of her son Mikaël, who had a small part in Léolo . With Dolan, she personally traveled to London in 2017 to work on his The Death and Life of John F. Donovan . In 2015, Lafontaine produced La Passion d’Augustine with François Tremblay, winning

235-401: A letter thanking her for her ineptitude in business, which he considered necessary to make a film with feeling. She kept it as a cherished keepsake. In one scene, a boy commits an act of bestiality with a tied-down cat. Lauzon initially intended to use a puppet for the cat in a rehearsal, but the actor objected that it would be ridiculous, insisting on a real cat. The film was entered into

282-446: A neighbouring young woman named Bianca and imagines her singing to him from a closet, emitting a white light. His grandfather, who Léolo believes attempted to murder him by holding him under a pool, helps her financially and extorts her for sexual favours, revealing her breasts and putting his feet in her mouth. Léolo begins to fantasize about Bianca sexually and discovers masturbation . Meanwhile, his brother Fernand, after being beaten by

329-544: A production designer who has won three Academy Awards . Visitors enter Cinecittà World through the jaws of the Temple of Moloch, seen in Cabiria , a silent movie filmed in Turin in 1914. The theme park also features a recreation of 1920s-era Manhattan as envisioned by Ferretti. Cinecittà World expects to have 1.5 million visitors annually. Expansion plans for the theme park include

376-579: A resurgence of interest, leading to critics and filmmakers adding it to the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time in 2015. The film also influenced the naming of the movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , when site co-creator Senh Duong decided upon the site name while viewing the film. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Academy Awards , but

423-633: A screening in the Cannes Classics selection of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival . The restoration was carried out by the Elephant project and Cinémathèque québécoise , and it was the first Canadian film screened for Cannes Classics. After opening at Place des Arts in Montreal on June 4, 1992, the film made $ 100,000 after its first week. The film had a total of 110,000 admissions in Quebec theatres. In its first weekend in two New York theatres, it made $ 31,009, which

470-507: A smaller English Canadian, and non-Quebecois music, concluding the film represented a "national identity crisis". Among the cosmopolitan music uses is Tibetan-style chanting, and songs by The Rolling Stones and Tom Waits . Film scholar Jim Leach wrote that in real life, Lauzon would call himself a Canadian director, despite contemporary belief Quebec cinema was distinct. In the narration, the setting "Mile End, Montreal, Canada" does not mention Quebec, and Léolo's supposed Italian father refers to

517-577: A state of trance" and was initially unsure how the storyline would develop or end. Before completing high school and going on to study film in university, Lauzon stated he had lived on "the criminal fringes" of Montreal streets, and his dark perspective is found in Léolo . André Petrowski, a friend of Lauzon, also claimed the film depicted the "gross pathology" of the Lauzon family in a "very, very personal way". Although Lauzon had offers to shoot Hollywood action films after Night Zoo (1987), he instead presented

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564-729: Is the largest film studio in Europe , and is considered the hub of Italian cinema . The studios were constructed during the Fascist era as part of a plan to revive the Italian film industry. Filmmakers such as Federico Fellini , Roberto Rossellini , Luchino Visconti , Sergio Leone , Bernardo Bertolucci , Francis Ford Coppola , Martin Scorsese , and Mel Gibson have worked at Cinecittà. More than 3,000 movies have been filmed there, of which 90 received an Academy Award nomination and 47 of these won it. In

611-506: Is through the Word Tamer character, who becomes "an omniscient god-like observer". Author Bill Marshall assessed the Word Tamer as one of the benign elders, as opposed to the bad ones, and hypothesized that the Word Tamer's abode, Federico Fellini 's Cinecittà property, symbolizes the film's "exaggerated, grotesque realism". Some Canadian analysis of Léolo has related to possible political symbolism and Quebec's national identity. In 1992 at

658-633: The Battle of Zama . During World War II it became a German army barracks and was stripped of all electrical equipment with its sound stages smashed and gutted. The studios were bombed by the Western Allies during the bombing of Rome in World War II . Following the war, between 1945 and 1947, the studios of Cinecittà were used as a displaced persons ' camp for a period of about two years, following German occupation and Allied bombing that destroyed parts of

705-775: The Cannes Film Festival and screened on 17 May 1992, where it received a standing ovation. At Cannes, Lauzon supposedly told juror Jamie Lee Curtis he wanted to have sex with her, which Los Angeles Times writer Kenneth Turan believed compromised the film's prospects of winning the Palme d'Or . It was screened at the 1992 Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival in September 1992, distributed by Fine Line Features . The film opened in Quebec in June, and in

752-409: The Léolo script to producer Lyse Lafontaine . Lafontaine stated the screenplay had been rejected by other producers and was difficult to read, but she found it "magic" and produced it with Aimée Danis . The film had a $ 5 million budget. Singer Ginette Reno was cast as the mother after initially rejecting the role, finding the subject matter was "too violent and rough". She was persuaded to star in

799-583: The Québec Cinéma Award for Best Film . On 1 June 2017 at the 19th Quebec Cinema Awards , she was awarded the Iris Hommage for 30 years of contributions to Quebec cinema . Her films include: Cinecitt%C3%A0 Cinecittà Studios ( pronounced [ˌtʃinetʃitˈta] ; Italian for Cinema City Studios ) is a large film studio in Rome , Italy . With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it

846-458: The Université de Montréal and earned her degree. She married Stéphane Venne and managed the rock band Offenbach in 1972. She became a stage manager on the 1974 film The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz , and married her second husband, moving to The Bahamas for two years before returning to Canada. In 1976, Lafontaine served as location manager for the film The Little Girl Who Lives Down

893-412: The 12th best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Academy Awards , but was not accepted as a nominee. The film was selected for competition for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and its loss caused critics to accuse the jury of conservative choices. At the 13th Genie Awards , Léolo received nine nominations and

940-555: The 1950s, the number of international productions being made there led to Rome being dubbed " Hollywood on the Tiber ." The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini , his son Vittorio , and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi under the slogan " Il cinema è l'arma più forte " ("Cinema is the most powerful weapon"). The purpose was not only for propaganda, but also to support the recovering Italian feature film industry, which had reached its low point in 1931. Mussolini himself inaugurated

987-569: The Book VI of his television series Kaamelott set in Ancient Rome . More recently, Paolo Sorrentino 's series The Young Pope and The New Pope were almost entirely shot at Cinecittà, including reconstruction of the interiors of the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica . The 2019 film The Two Popes sections of which were also shot at Cinecittà, again utilised a reconstruction of

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1034-620: The Gulf War and mounting tensions in Yugoslavia, RAI decided to move the contest from Sanremo to Rome which was perceived to be more secure. After a period of near- bankruptcy , the Italian Government privatized Cinecittà in 1997, selling an 80% stake. On August 9, 2007, a fire destroyed about 3,000 m (32,000 sq. ft.) of the Cinecittà lot and surroundings. The historic part that houses

1081-629: The Italian version of Big Brother , where the Big Brother house is built on Cinecittà's premises. The complex also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 . In addition, the BBC / HBO series Rome was filmed there from 2004 to 2007, the show being widely acclaimed for its sets and designs. BBC Wales reused some of these sets for an episode of the 2008 series of Doctor Who set in ancient Pompeii , and Alexandre Astier reused this set for

1128-585: The Lane , starring Jodie Foster . Lafontaine met Lauzon when he was pitching his screenplay for Léolo (1992), which other producers had rejected. It became the first film she produced, with Aimée Danis , for which they were nominated for the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture . While in Italy during filming, Lauzon gave Lafontaine a letter thanking her for her ineptitude in business, which he considered necessary to make

1175-521: The Sistine Chapel. In 2009 the studio announced that they intended to create a theme park. The movie-themed amusement park, Cinecittà World , opened in July 2014. The € 250 million theme park is located approximately 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Cinecittà studios, on the site of a former movie studio built by Dino De Laurentiis in the 1960s. Cinecittà World was designed by Dante Ferretti ,

1222-517: The Tiber , was the location for several large American film productions , like Roman Holiday (1953), Beat the Devil (1953), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Ben-Hur (1959), and some low-budget action pictures starring Lex Barker . Barker also featured in Federico Fellini 's La Dolce Vita (1960) and the studios were for many years closely associated with Fellini. In the same period,

1269-493: The Toronto International Film Festival, programming director Piers Handling called the film an "epitaph for Quebec", in which the title character rejects his Quebecois identity and joins another world by fantasy. Canadian historian George Melnyk remarked that Pierre Bourgault is a prominent Quebec separatist, but is not allowed to say much in the film, which also features the muscular Fernand intimidated by

1316-579: The U.S. in February 1993. It had a release in 70 countries in total. After Lauzon was killed in the northern Quebec plane crash in 1997, CBC Television , Télé-Québec and Showcase aired Night Zoo and Léolo in August, and Serge Losique announced an outdoor screening for Léolo at the Montreal World Film Festival in September. In 2014, Léolo was selected for a 2K digital restoration for

1363-457: The fall of 1991. A second stage of filming took place briefly in Sicily . Lafontaine found shooting the film difficult because of Lauzon's emotional swings, although Reno found him affectionate. Lauzon asserted those who found him too temperamental to work with did not know him well, and he had a history of good relations with film departments. When Lafontaine traveled to Italy with Lauzon, he gave her

1410-426: The family's troubles, Léolo attempts to lower a noose and hang his grandfather while he is in the bath. His grandfather sees Léolo doing it and is choked, before finally being freed, with Léolo injured in the process. Léolo subsequently goes to the hospital, where he is told his actions could constitute attempted murder , though he is not charged. Reacting with horror to the ways other boys are pursuing sex, he seeks out

1457-550: The film "elevates Canadian cinema to new heights of creative ambition and achievement". Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, writing " Léolo is an enchanting, disgusting, romantic, depressing, hilarious, tragic movie, and it is quite original- one of the year's best. I have never seen one like it before". Janet Maslin of The New York Times called Léolo "daring, bracingly original" and initially "whimsical". Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times praised it as "extraordinary". Peter Brunette of The New York Times wrote "It's

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1504-447: The film is astonishing". In 2014, Peter Howell of The Toronto Star , writing on Léolo' s screening in Cannes Classics, called the film "masterful", while Bruce Kirkland of The Toronto Sun called it "brilliantly deranged" and speculated Lauzon would have enjoyed seeing the film's revival. Also in 2014, Turan included Léolo in his book, Not to Be Missed: Fifty-Four Favorites From a Lifetime of Film , citing it as an example of one of

1551-660: The film is set before the Quiet Revolution, saying if Léolo was born in the 1950s, the 12-year-old character lived in 1965, and Ducharme's book seen in the film was published in 1967. Marshall noted the Ducharme novel would place the story in the 1960s, but argued "otherwise the feel is 1950s". Director Jean-Claude Lauzon wrote the screenplay, starting it in Sicily while shooting his first film Night Zoo . It served in part as an autobiography , with Lauzon stating he wrote it "almost in

1598-508: The film, believing it might win her new fans, even if others were shocked by it. For the title role, Maxime Collin was cast at age 11. For the part of the Word Tamer, who reads Léolo's writings, Lauzon cast his mentor, university professor Pierre Bourgault . Although in reality Bourgault is a strong proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement , Lauzon denied he was cast for political reasons. A bodybuilder, Yves Montmarquette, portrayed Fernand for

1645-578: The films among the 54 with "a more limited following". The next year, the Toronto International Film Festival placed it fifth in the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time , regarded as a "noteworthy" change in the overall Top 10, which had been compiled once per decade since 1984. The Cannes restoration likely led to the resurgence of interest in the film, resulting in the Top 10 addition. In 2001, an industry poll conducted by Playback named it

1692-447: The scenes after the character builds up his muscles. Lafontaine's son Mikaël had a small part as a swimmer. The film's French producers asked Lauzon to use actor Pierre Richard in the film, which he did not. The film was shot over 58 days beginning in the fall of 1991, originally in Montreal. In one scene, Léolo is seen sitting in front of a house, which was where Jean-Claude Lauzon was born. Reno spent three months filming Léolo over

1739-455: The sequel to The Old Guard . Since the 1990s, films have included Anthony Minghella 's The English Patient (1996) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Martin Scorsese 's Gangs of New York (2002), Wes Anderson 's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Mel Gibson ’s The Passion of the Christ (2004). Cinecittà also hosts TV productions, such as Grande Fratello ,

1786-435: The services of a prostitute named Regina. Upon later becoming ill, he ends up in the same institution where many other members of his family have been treated. New York remarked on the classical allusions in the story: The story is also related with a "dreamlike environment", with "choral music" that evokes "the possibility of spiritual transcendence". Part of the way the narrative shifts from natural to fantasy elements

1833-461: The sets of classics such as Ben-Hur was not damaged; however, a good portion of the original sets from the HBO/BBC series Rome was destroyed. In July 2012, another fire damaged Teatro 5, the vast studio where Fellini filmed La Dolce Vita and Satyricon (1969). A third fire in August 2022 destroyed part of a partially dismantled set depicting Renaissance-era Florence and disrupted filming of

1880-461: The studio. An estimated 3,000 refugees lived there, divided into two camps: an Italian camp housing Italians as well as displaced people from Italian Libya and Dalmatia, and an international camp, including refugees from Yugoslavia, Poland, Egypt, Iran, and China. After rebuilding in the postwar years by MGM's Henry Henigson for Quo Vadis , the studios were used once again for their post-production facilities. Cinecittà, described as Hollywood on

1927-404: The studios on 21 April 1937. Post-production units and sets were constructed and heavily used initially. Early films such as Scipio Africanus (1937) and The Iron Crown (1941) showcased the technological advancement of the studios. Seven thousand people were involved in the filming of the battle scene from Scipio Africanus , and live elephants were brought in as a part of the re-enactment of

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1974-456: The studios were used for further international productions such as Francis of Assisi (1961), Cleopatra (1963), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968), Fellini's Casanova (1976), La Traviata (1982) and many other productions. It hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 . This was the 36th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on Stage 15. Due to

2021-489: The tomatoes as destined for " America " rather than Quebec, though they are sold in Montreal. It is also thought the film is set in the late 1950s, in the "old Quebec" before the Quiet Revolution . However, Lauzon denied the film had any political meaning, saying he was not an intellectual, and his film "does not have the flag draped all over it". He also said he had an admiration for the Italian people. Leach questioned if

2068-669: Was considered a successful launch. According to Box Office Mojo , the film finished its run grossing $ 611,703 domestically. It was the highest-grossing film in Canada for 1992. It was one of the highest-grossing films worldwide for distributor Alliance Films . It did particularly well in Germany and Spain, while it did not perform well in the U.S. Léolo has an approval rating of 90% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , based on 10 reviews, and an average rating of 8.3/10. Canadian critic Brian D. Johnson , writing for Maclean's , said

2115-480: Was impregnated after falling into a cart of tomatoes contaminated by an Italian man's semen, Léo identifies as Italian rather than French Canadian and adopts the name Léolo Lozone. Growing up in an apartment with a rat in the bathtub, a turkey and a family obsessed with regular bowel movements, Léolo continues to write. His writings are discovered by the Word Tamer, a reincarnation of Don Quixote , who searches through trash for letters and photographs. Léolo observes

2162-417: Was not accepted as a nominee. In Mile End, Montreal , Léo Lauzon is a young boy living in a tenement with his dysfunctional family , serving as the unreliable narrator . He uses his active fantasy life and the book L'avalée des avalés by Québécois novelist Réjean Ducharme to escape the reality of his life. He feels his father is insane and denies being his son. After having a dream revealing his mother

2209-528: Was perceived as being in an unusually tight competition with David Cronenberg 's Naked Lunch . Naked Lunch was considered to have triumphed over Leolo on awards night. Lyse Lafontaine Lyse Lafontaine (born 1942 ) is a Canadian film producer known for working with directors Jean-Claude Lauzon and Xavier Dolan . She works at Lyla Films in Montreal , Quebec, Canada. Born to La Presse reporter Gaston Lafontaine, Lyse studied literature at

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