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Seducing Doctor Lewis (La grande séduction) - Raymond Bouchard, Dominic Michon-Dagenais, Guy-Daniel Tremblay, Jean-François Pouliot

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Seducing Doctor Lewis is a beguiling story of a ragtag fishing community on a tiny, impoverished island who must persuade young Montréal-based doctor Christopher Lewis (David Boutin) to live in their town in order to get a much-needed new factory.

Over a one-month trial period, the villagers try to satisfy his every need and convince him that their town offers all the charms of a thriving metropolis. Led by their mayor, Germain Lesage (Raymond Bouchard), the villagers rise to the challenge with good-hearted duplicity. However, as their deception continues, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain.

Just as Doctor Lewis begins to respond to the simple "authenticity" of the village, the question arises: how will he feel when he finds out it's based on lies?

The directorial début of Jean-François Pouliot, Seducing Doctor Lewis is a charming and funny tale, as well as a wry meditation on truth and falsehood.

Persons of interest

David Boutin .... Christopher Lewis
Raymond Bouchard .... Germain Lesage
Dominic Michon-Dagenais .... Young Germain
Guy-Daniel Tremblay .... Rolland Lesage
Nadia Drouin .... Simone Lesage
Rita Lafontaine .... Helene Lesage
Roc LaFortune .... Charles Campeau
Réal Bossé .... Denis Lacoste
Guy Vaillancourt .... Claude Larivée
Lucie Laurier .... Eve Beauchemin
Pierre Collin .... Yvon Brunet
Ken Scott .... Richard Auger
Jean-Pierre Gonthier .... Réal Fournier
Benoît Brière .... Henri Giroux
Marc Legault .... Marcel Sigouin
Caroline Girard .... Lucie Giroux
Betty Jones .... Marlène Giroux
Ken Scott .... Screenwriter
Jean-François Pouliot .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Seducing Doctor Lewis (La grande séduction) official movie site
Seducing Doctor Lewis (La grande séduction) production notes (.pdf)
Seducing Doctor Lewis (La grande séduction) movie trailers:

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Awards and film festivals:

Atlantic Film Festival 2003: Won: Audience Award (Jean-François Pouliot)
Bangkok International Film Festival 2005: Windows on the World
Genie Awards 2004: Won: Best Achievement in Cinematography (Allen Smith); Nominated: Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design (Normand Sarazin), Best Achievement in Costume Design (Louise Gagne), Best Achievement in Direction (Jean-François Pouliot), Best Achievement in Editing (Dominique Fortin), Best Achievement in Overall Sound (Claude Hazanavicius, Michel Descombes), Best Achievement in Sound Editing (Marcel Pothier, Guy Francoeur, Carole Gagnon, Antoine Morin, Jacques Plante), Best Motion Picture (Roger Frappier, Luc Vandal), Best Original Screenplay (Ken Scott), Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Raymond Bouchard), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Benoît Brière)
Jutra Awards 2004: Won: Golden Ticket Best Cinematography (Allen Smith), Best Costume Design (Louise Gagne), Best Editing (Dominique Fortin), Best Sound (Claude Hazanavicius, Marcel Pothier, Michel Descombes), Best Supporting Actor (Pierre Collin), Best Supporting Actress (Clémence DesRochers)
São Paulo International Film Festival 2004: New filmmakers competition
Sundance Film Festival 2004: Won: Audience Award World Cinema - Dramatic (Jean-François Pouliot)

NB: French language dialogue with English language subtitles
See also The Shipping News
Studios and distributors:

Rialto Entertainment

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Seducing Doctor Lewis puts me in mind of that TV comedy from the 90s, Northern exposure, in which a city doctor is required to set up practice in an eccentric Alaskan town. Once you get past that, it's a home-made comedy with a happy ending, full of jokes at everyone's expense. Especially if you like Cricket. The French accents are not what you learnt at school, they are Québécois. It's a good little movie where you can put up your troubles for a couple of hours. Great for old people.