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Far Side of the Moon
Far Side of the Moon
Directed by	Robert Lepage
Written by	Robert Lepage
Produced by	Bob Krupinski; Mario St-Laurent
Starring	Robert Lepage; Anne-Marie Cadieux; Marco Poulin; Céline Bonnier; Lorraine Côté
Cinematography	Ronald Plante
Edited by	Philippe Gagnon
Music by	Benoît Jutras
Distributed by	Alliance Atlantis
Release date	2003;
Running time	105 mins
Country	Canada
Language	French

Far Side of the Moon (French: La Face cachée de la lune) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Robert Lepage and released in 2003.^[2] The film is based on Lepage's eponymous play, which premiered in 2000.^[3]

Set in the context of the USSR-United States Space Race of the 1960s, the film centres on two brothers, both played by Lepage, who are struggling to cope with the recent death by suicide of their mother (Anne-Marie Cadieux).^[4] Philippe, the older brother, is a doctoral student in astronomy who buries his feelings in his academic pursuits, while André, the younger brother, is a gay television weatherman who has always had a happier and easier path through life but finds himself struggling.^[5]

The film received four Genie Award nominations at the 24th Genie Awards in 2004: Best Picture (Bob Krupinski and Mario St-Laurent), Best Director (Lepage), Best Actor (Lepage) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Lepage).^[6] Lepage won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.^[7]

The film was Canada's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the 77th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.^[8]

Cast

Robert Lepage – Philippe / André
Anne-Marie Cadieux – La mère
Marco Poulin – Carl
Céline Bonnier – Nathalie
Fabrice Mongeau – Philippe at age 15
Raphaël Dury – Philippe at age 7
Étienne Bouchard-Dauphin – André at age 8
Gregory Hlady – Interpreter
Yves Amyot – Bartender
Richard Fréchette – Doctor
Érika Gagnon – Philippe's Supervisor
Sergei Priselkov – Alexei Leonov (as Sergei Prisselkov)
Sophie Faucher – Presenter
Lorraine Côté – Marie-Madeleine Bonsecours
Oleg Belkin – Bodyguard
Sylvain Massé – Security Guard
Myriam LeBlanc – Hotel receptionist
Olivier Bolvin St-Jean – Nathalie as a child
Véronique Aubut – Nurse
Alexandre Sadeisky – Concierge
Agnieszka Baran – Stewardess
Brigitte Bilodeau – Cosmetician

Reception

Far Side of the Moon has an approval rating of 81% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10.^[9] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generaly favorable reviews".^[10]

References

^ "La Face cachée de la lune (2003)". Library and Archives Canada. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
^ "From far side to big screen". Montreal Gazette, October 9, 2003.
^ "The Far Side of the Moon". EX MACHINA. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
^ "Robert Lepage's new film is about mom's death". Peterborough Examiner, September 6, 2003.
^ "Earth weary guy lost in space a Lepage probe of narcissism". Toronto Star, May 7, 2004.
^ "Genie smitten by Quebec's grand seduction; La belle province leads nominations 'Canadian Oscars' awarded May 1". Toronto Star, March 17, 2004.
^ "Genies are invaded by Denys Arcand". Hamilton Spectator, May 3, 2004.
^ "Telefilm picks Robert Lepage's Far Side of the Moon as Oscar foreign film nod". The Telegram, September 10, 2004.
^ "The Far Side of the Moon". Rotten Tomatoes.
^ "The Far Side of the Moon". Metacritic.