Akin to several other fine Quebec films in theme and spirit, Un Été sans point ni coup sûr looks back lovingly and longingly on the loss of childhood innocence. It is the summer of '69 in suburban Montreal. Amid the wood panelling and sepia-toned film stock, twelve-year-old Martin (Pier-Luc Funk) yearns to become a baseball whiz, and eagerly watches every Expos game he can. Alas, when the hotshot local coach (Roy Dupuis) holds tryouts, Martin does not make the cut. His father Charles (Patrice Robitaille), however, has a plan. He starts up a separate team for all of those kids who need to find another route to the big league.
Director Francis Leclerc's heartfelt drama works so well because the filmmaker maintains control of a perfect tone. Although Un Été sans point ni coup sûr waxes nostalgic, it is never maudlin, capturing the moment between childhood and adulthood with tremendous precision. Charles's lack of baseball knowledge provides some of the humour, but this is not the whole point; it is his love for his son that drives him to create the oddball league. Sports fans will appreciate the baseball, while Dupuis devotees will have yet another chance to see the actor stretch himself into a new and unexpected role as the nasty, competitive coach. Buoyed by superb art direction – '69 was a beige-soaked year, often seen through a Super 8 camera – Leclerc brings Marc Robitaille's celebrated novel to the big screen with tenderness and respect.
During the fabled summer of 1969 in Montreal, the Expos gained wide exposure and families gathered around the television to watch the lunar landing. As Jean-Marc Vallée did in C.R.A.Z.Y., Leclerc renders a deeply personal story of adolescence while simultaneously depicting Quebec's own coming of age. Un Été sans point ni coup sûr takes us to a time and place where, despite the characters' inevitable flaws, the possibilities seemed endless.
Matthew Hays
Francis Leclerc was born in Quebec City. He began his filmmaking career directing music videos and short films before working on the award-winning television film Les Sept branches de la rivière Ôta (98). His feature films are Une Jeune Fille à la fenêtre (01), Mémoires affectives (04), which received three Genies and four Jutra awards, and Un Été sans point ni coup sûr (08).