Bar Salon

Bar Salon

Bar Salon (shot in 21 days over Christmas in the winter of 1972 but not released commercially until February 1975) is a simple, effective film shot in black and white with the kind of downbeat poetry found in the works of Charles Bukowski. Fiftyish salon-owner Charles (Guy L'Ecuyer) is about to lose his bar, but manages to land a job as manager of a suburban cabaret - only to lose it as well after an affair with a topless dancer. Without being maudlin, Bar Salon shows the audience the loss of a man's dream, its effect on his family, and the gritty reality of their lives.

Bar Salon established writer/director André Forcier, who was only 25 years old at the time of filming, as a major talent in Québec cinema. Demonstrating a great deal of insight into his characters and their working-class backgrounds, his pungent, incisive, witty style is matched only by the affection he shows for his characters. They seem neither resigned nor overjoyed about their lot in life. They show no particular desire to improve it, and refuse, in large part, to play the game of social competitiveness. These are simple people with small dreams, and André Forcier treats them with the utmost respect.