The Sound Of Trees

This coming of age tale set in rural Bas-Saint-Laurent in Quebec inevitably has familiar elements but one-time documentary film-maker François Péloquin gives it a fresh feel as he tracks a teenager’s last summer before making a momentous decision.

Jérémie, who is just 17, dreams of a different life from the one his father leads in the family sawmill. He and his mates don’t have much to occupy them in this desolate environment apart from souped up cars, listening to hip hop, hanging out, and making out with local girls.

When the boy’s older brother gets married and moves away, the relationship between Jérémie and his father deteriorates and his aimless existence in this isolated community comes into even sharper relief.

Unfolding the story in a series of economical scenes with an eye for the detail of the surroundings and the characters, Péloquin delivers an absorbing drama about a ground-breaking period in a teenager’s life. It is a summer that will never be repeated.

He is well served by the precision and playing of his actors, especially the tandem of Roy Dupuis (a much revered Quebec player) as the father and newcomer Antoine L’Ecuyer as his son. The bonds that bind them together are strong even if most of their real feelings and emotions lurk beneath a very masculine veneer.

Péloquin’s background as an anthropologist shows through in his observation of people and their ordinary ways. The Sound Of Trees marks an impressive feature debut.