Y'A Une Étoile

At a time when LGBTQ+ people in many parts of the world feel under seige, at the centre of a moral panic which threatens to politicise every detail of day to day existence, this sweet little documentary by Julien Cadieux is a breath of fresh air. It’s not a genre film per se, unless one argues that a world in which we can all get along peacefully is innately fantastical, but it’s so French Canadian in its very essence that one can see how it managed to win a place at the Montreal-based Fantasia International Film Festival regardless. In any event, people all around the world will fall in love with it.

Pastel coloured and framed, in many places, like a Wes Anderson film, it follows a young musician called Samuel Leblanc through a pivotal period in his life. As he prepares for graduation and whatever may lie ahead, he spends his time giving talks about what it means to be a trans man, drawing on his personal experiences and wider knowledge to answer questions and bust myths. Riding on a blue bicycle or floating through the skies in a canary yellow hot air balloon, he travels across Acadia to meet other members of sexual and gender minority groups who live in small towns and villages, learning about what life is like for them and discovering, despite a realistic acknowledgement of difficulties, heart-warming stories of love and acceptance.

A rich diversity of experiences is reflected here. There are trans men and women, non-binary people, drag queens, an asexual biromantic woman and her partner, a lesbian couple, a two-spirit teenager reclaiming their First Nations heritage and a bisexual woman who doesn’t want her identity to be erased because she’s in a relationship with a straight guy. Most of them are young but we also meet an elderly man who talks about his husbands, both now deceased, with wonder and gratitude rather than sorrow, showing us the photographs which commemorate lives well lived. Around many of these people are supportive family members. Samuel’s own mother discovered something about her own identity after he came out. We see people doing all sorts of ordinary things, talking to and about each other in a free, relaxed way, without prejudice or fear. Small communities are not always the hostile places people imagine, we are assured. The film provides a beacon of hope to those who are struggling elsewhere.

Many LGBTQ+ people will have experienced being told that people are willing to put up with them but they don’t need to make a song and dance about it. Cadieux does exactly that. Several songs in fact, to which Samuel’s friends perform neatly choreographed dance numbers. Smiles are laughter are everywhere. There are beaches and fairgrounds and a prom full of star-shaped balloons where we hear a rendition of the Angèle Arsenault song from which the film takes its name. There is a star for every one of us. For a little while, at least, Cadieux will make you believe it.