aoichou This movie is composed of nothing if not polar opposites...joy and pain, sin and redemption, love and jealousy, life and loss. Fortunately, every emotion is so exquisitely expressed in this film, every range of the spectrum explored, that what results in nothing short of cinematic perfection. I genuinely cared about every character in this piece, felt their struggles and joys with them, cried with them, laughed with them. This film leaves no corner of the heart untouched.The cinematography is glorious, blending the scenes from the prisoners' play with realistically portrayed ones, and I'm not even going to mention just how beautiful the filming locations are because I cannot do them justice. Brent Carver gives a stunning, flawless performance as the Countess; I was also deeply moved by Alexander Chapman's role as Lydie-Anne--And yet, I must say that no one touched me quite so deeply as the lovers, played by Jason Cadieux and Danny Gilmore. The chemistry between the two simply took my breath away. Together, they give this film its heart and soul.In short, everything about the piece flows like water, the water which is ever present in the movie, be it the "Mediterranean" lake or the flooded chapel. Seamless. Reflective. Beautiful. As I walked away from this film (though only for the time being, as it deserves many more viewings) I felt so much, and yet all I could do was smile.This film deserves your time. I cannot emphasize that enough.

druidlord This film exceeds expectations on so many levels. The acting was a little stiff to start with but as you proceed into the film you pay less and less attention to it and begin to become enfolded in a different world. The fact that the other parts are all played by men seems to enhance the film once you've got over the initial shock of seeing them. I think both of the two leads (Young Simon and Vallier) played their parts admirably and deserve to go on to greater things.The screen play was fantastic for me but I would like to read the book to see what I missed out on. I think that I agree with another poster in that the biggest disappointment for me was that the older Simon looked and sounded nothing like the younger version which was a shame. The Bishop Bilodeau was very believable and the supporting role of the Countess De Tilly where both played with eloquence and style. The music that accompanies the film enhances the experience, particularly towards the end of the film. But for me, the one thing that stood out above all of these was a one line sentence spoken my Simon as he holds Vallier in his arms after the death of the Countess De Tilly. He whispers "I got you" That was all but with the music of the Hillard Ensemble behind it, it proved to be the most simple and most powerfully moving line I think I've ever heard. It still brings me to tears even now and I will always remember it.I love this film and I think its one that my family should watch for its uniqueness and moving portrayals.Thank you to everyone involved. You did a stunning job.

nycritic Never trust a confession that a childhood friend wants to make to you because more than likely it comes with an entire onslaught of a carefully planned stage adaptation of the reason he hates you so much. That's the blueprint for Michel Marc Bouchard's play of the same name. It at first looked, to me, to be a little stylized, like some of Marguerite Duras' short novels -- "The Ravishment of Lol Stein" for example -- but once the movie takes off, a thing that happens quite immediately, it draws you in.A seamless transition from past events and the present, staged events in the prison facility where the older Bilodeau, now a Bishop, has gone to hear this confession, makes the entirety of the movie. LILIES evolves with the surety of a mystery even when we know something pretty bad has happened between the Bishop and the prisoner Simon who hates his guts, but it's like a marvelous puzzle worth solving -- you can't turn away.It seems, in 1912, two boys loved each other very much. Simon and Vallier were carefree, mindless of what anyone else would think. Played by the young Canadian actors Jason Cadieux and Danny Gilmore, they look perfectly matched and complement each other, Cadieux being the more masculine and therefore dominant, Gilmore being the feminine, more malleable and romantic man, desperately and unabashedly in love.But, as it goes with people in love (regardless the gender, I will always state that), there is always a monkey wrench. That is Bilodeau, a man with his own designs on Simon, who the very thought of him kissing another man drives him crazy with rage and who bellows left and right that the two of them are involved in something "sick and evil". Played by Matthew Ferguson, he makes you literally hate this character: his manic glee in denouncing their love, his "prayers" that Simon see the "error of his ways" are only matched by what I recall being Winona Ryder's ferocious performance in THE CRUCIBLE or Bonita Granville's openly evil character in THESE THREE.In Bilodeau the film has its villain even when in the middle of the movie his character somewhat stands by the sidelines and watches the progressive separation between Simon and Vallier due to other circumstances. The arrival of a personality, Lydie-Anne (played by Alexander Chapman), and her subsequent engagement to Simon throws in a deeper wrench -- she is unaware of Simon's true desires, and even more unaware that Bilodeau is conspiring to do some grievous harm. Alexander Chapman is pretty compelling to watch as this socialite: I couldn't see a man in drag as much as a brittle woman who knew her way around people; seeing him play his male counterpart as events shift back to the present is watching a completely different person altogether.The same can't go for Brent Carver who plays another prison inmate and the Countess de Lilly. As the Countess he comes across at times as a more subdued Katharine Hepburn in THE African QUEEN, but also as a man in drag. Even so, his is an interesting character to see because it requires a lot of control not to chew scenery when the opportunity presents itself -- which is often, especially in a scene involving some pretty sharp dialog exchanges with Chapman. Even so, his death scene is very moving, more so due to the circumstances in which it takes place. That it makes Valliers's and Simon's bond stronger is compelling.Where I believe the movie -- and probably the play; I haven't read it so I must assume the movie is faithful to the material -- fails is at its climax. While I'm not surprised at the revelation of who the Bishop is -- many "men of the cloth" are little more than perverts usurping as the Voice of God because they can't face their own realities -- his own punishment comes off as vague. It's as if the movie didn't know how to exact justice against him. In my world, the Bishop would have been tormented until the skin would have peeled off his body -- eye for an eye. But maybe it's best to leave him alone. I can see why Simon even then wouldn't allow himself to dirty his hands with such human garbage. It would be best to let Life take care of this type of person; they always die alone and riddled with their inner cancer.LILIES is a compelling watch. I loved its passion, its fearlessness in representing gay love, even at the moment of tragedy. Coming nine years prior to BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN it should share the honor of being a movie that was aimed at an audience ready to accept men professing love to each other, free of self-loathing and cultural constraints.

acearms A truly remarkable film. The characters are all played by males reminiscent of the days of Shakespeare. And what a delight to watch. I've seen it several times and am always impressed with the acting as well as the plot. This was a truly artistic endeavor above the traditional film making. One has to flow with the several roles to understand the interaction of the characters and appreciate the actors in those roles. Forget the gay aspect, and appreciate the brilliant acting and roles played out. Not a typical Hollywood mill production, but something with true artistry. A must see.