Talent does not depend on age, life experience or education. You can learn all your life, but never shoot. But Xavier Dolan at the age of 25 is an actor, director, artist, composer. His first film made a splash, and the last film, Tom on the Farm, broke the applause at the Venice Film Festival. And who else can boast that at such a young age it is able to compete seriously with cinema meters? However, the recognized masters had to move.
So who is Xavier Dolan?
Some critics consider him an upstart impostor. They claim that all of his paintings are a complete citation, that he did not bring anything new to the cinema.
Others, on the contrary, consider him the director of the “New Wave”, a representative of independent cinema, whose films bear the imprint of individuality and originality.
Who is right? Most likely, there are none, as usual.
Xavier himself admits that he is still looking for forms, trying various materials, subjects, directorial techniques. However, these are not experiments for the sake of experiments. This is a search for new opportunities to tell your stories.
Dolan is not just a director, he starred in his films. He writes scripts, selects soundtracks, builds the composition of the future film and looks for suitable authentic faces for his stories.
Biographical
His full name is Xavier Dolan-Tadros. He was born in 1989, March 20, in Montreal. Tadros is the name of his father. Egyptian actor Manuel and university employee Genevieve broke up long before Xavier came of age. However, it was under the influence of his father that the young genius first tried himself in the acting field. Everything is very commonplace. He starred in commercials. Then there was the experience of dubbing. From the age of five he was taken to small roles in the series. He lit up in the movie. Again, in the episodes. For such a young age, a career has developed very successfully.
As a result, Xavier decided not to waste time on school, left him without even bothering to get a certificate. The period of “nonexistence”, as Dolan himself christened this time, ended with writing the script for the director’s first film - “I killed my mother”.
First film, first success
“I killed my mother” is the first film made by director and screenwriter Xavier Dolan. His filmography until this moment was instantly forgotten. Indeed, where there are episodic children's roles before the semi-biographical revelation film.
The name of this tape repels many. However, the viewer is not a thriller, not a terrible noir, this is a frank story of a teenager crushed by mom’s hyper-custody. Relations with my mother on the verge of love, hate are familiar to many. Sometimes the desire of parents to build the lives of their children with their own hands creates monstrous conflicts.
In parallel, there is another, not explicit storyline in the film. The relationship between the main character and his boyfriend. Yes, Xavier Dolan is gay. And he does not hide it.
The film "I killed my mother" was praised by the jury of the Cannes Film Festival. The picture was even nominated for an Oscar, however, they were not allowed to enter the main list. This did not prevent the young director from becoming a cult.
The picture once again convinces us that to create a masterpiece, huge financial investments, promotions and advertising promotion are not needed. You don’t even have to attract a lot of people. The seventeen-year-old boy himself took off, mounted, built a visual series, picked up the soundtrack, and starred in the title role. And it became a "new" discovery in the cinema.
Imagining love
Almost immediately after the debut tape, the next Xavier film was released. The young artist is generally distinguished by amazing performance.
In 2009, the painting “Imaginary Love” appeared. The author himself described the film as "small" in terms of the feelings of the main characters, immersed in self-love. Trying to build some kind of ideal love, they slide into the banal "petty" love passions. The visual range here is very different from what was in the first picture. Bright, sometimes far from reality, images emphasize the unnaturalness, "pictures" of this love triangle.
The film again fell into the Cannes program and was awarded in the "Special Look" nomination. Now no one doubted Xavier's talent.
Laurence story
In 2012, Cannes premiered the following picture. Xavier Dolan's films never cease to amaze with their originality.
This time, the director explores transsexuality. It would seem a well-known complication: a man and a woman. They love each other, but now the man finally decides to confess to himself the truth of his nature. He is getting ready for a sex change operation.
With every new movie, Dolan grows up. He demonstrates new visual techniques, while not losing the main thing - the ability to masterfully tell stories.
The viewer begins to empathize with the stranger, despised by many worlds of trance, to see the faces of living people behind grotesque masks.
Fans, and Xavier appeared a lot of them, began to closely monitor the news about the artist's plans. In 2012, information appears on the film adaptation of the play by Michael Bachard. Xavier Dolan himself was planning to film his Tom on the Farm. Photos from the Venice Film Festival pleased fans. Dolan not only completed the filming process of the film, but also participated with him in the competition program.
Village pastoral
From the first minutes of the picture, we observe a motorway tape that is lost in the vastness of meadows and fields. That's just from the serenity of the village there is no trace as soon as the main character meets the family of his deceased boyfriend. Instead of the expectedly shared grief, Tom confronts a mother who does not know the true nature of her son. In addition, undisguised hatred of gays comes from the brother of the deceased.
Many critics hastened to compare the impact of the new Xavier painting with the Hitchcock thriller phenomenon. The same clear sense of danger from the screen. Almost tangible rage, the inevitability of the tragic ending. The viewer in his own skin feels fear, anxiety and the expectation of a brutal outcome.
In “Tom,” Dolan again took on the lead role. Fans got the opportunity to enjoy not only directing, but also the acting game of the genius of independent cinema.
However, spiteful critics also increased. However, their escapades were not heard by the jury of the festival, which awarded the tape with a prize.
Xavier Dolan is not inclined to dismiss criticism. He uses detailed reviews of his work to continue polishing the technique. At the same time, he emphasizes in an interview that he is trying not to succumb too much to the flattery from the fans or to the evil statements of detractors.
Future plans
The fifth film is supposed to be called "Mommy." In it, the director will return to the topic of relations between mother and son. This will be a story about a woman who has brought up a boy with a dark, obscure past.
And Xavier Dolan will appear as an actor in the film based on the play “Song of the Elephants”.
Personal Facts
All with regard to facts not related to creativity, the director is diligently silent. Even in the most candid interviews, Dolan does not reveal the details of his life. He generously shares plans, experiences. He does not skimp on the discussion of his films. However, it is impossible to find information about who Xavier Dolan is dating. Personal life, in his opinion, should remain just that. He made his cuming out, and that’s all. This position deserves respect.
The young genius of independent cinema is not even thirty. Given his seething energy, the desire to shoot and act, you can expect in the future many more amazing films.