The review on the DVD proclaimed that this film was "Quebec's Titanic". That was about right: a film using sentimentality and a historical setting to distract from a weak plot and wooden characters.The premise of the film is that pre-1960s Quebec was a miserable, oppressive place where the Church and the wealthy controlled the peasants like some sort of Catholic Iran; this allows the wealthy bad guy to brtualize the poor hero and heroine with impunity. No doubt, this had some historical accuracy (certainly in the minds of Quebec film-makers), but it isn't very interesting to watch the main characters flail about helplessly, unable to overcome their lot in life, while some bad guy manipulates them.Compare this film to the much better "Louis Cyr", where a man growing up in the same time period and subject to the same low status overcomes his obstacles and becomes an inspiration for generations.The actors are some of the best that Quebec has, but each main character in Seraphin was so unidimensional that it almost felt like a parody. The rich bad guy is obsessed with money to the point where I confused him with Scrooge McDuck - he literally died with gold coins in his hand. The heroic lumberjack is so heroic that at one point he starts cutting wood in doubletime to pay off the rich bad guy. The damsel in distress is so distressed that I had to ask how a human being can reach adulthood without a backbone -- the one redeeming feature of Titanic was that the heroine took some control over her situation and tried, at the very least, to not die, something that Karine Vanasse's character wasn't up to attempting.If our cable was working, I wouldn't have watched it to the end.

Growing up, I used to watch the popular weekly TV serial that this movie is based on. This was in the 60's, and it lasted for quite a while. Everybody followed the lives of these characters, and the kids would imitate a few of them in the schoolyards during recess. It was a cornerstone of Quebec culture back then. Episodes are even being aired nowadays, but they don't have the same magic anymore... The pacing was very slow, and you'd only get a part of the story in each episode, to the point where I'd never even gotten to know how such a splendid "creature" as Donalda came to be that monster's wife, and the ties she had with Alexis, her true love. What a surprise to have that story told so wonderfully after all those years! Very nice work, Mr. Binamé... And thanks for making me see "the whole picture". I only wish you'd put Bill Wabo in the mix, so that I could figure out how he fit in there.

Another wonderful drama out of Quebec - not enough recognition is given to the caliber of acting in this movie. Roy Dupuis of course is well known for his dramatic talent but Karine Vanasse also did a very credible job for one so young and inexperienced.Without giving away any plot detail, here is another classic example of a man without soul. What goes around comes around and the moral in the story is not belaboured but left to the watchers intelligence.Beautiful scenery and a good depiction of the hardship that the early Quebec settlers endured.Once again, this is a movie well worth seeing and you won't be wasting your money on it.

This had the potential to be a gripping and tragic tale but fell flat. Character development is weak, many scenes are pointless. What should have been a sad and tragic tale merely had me shaking my head wondering what the director was thinking. There is no sufficiently convincing case for Donalda to marry Seraphin; What, so her spineless father can keep his general store running? Once married to Seraphin, she for some reason feels compelled to remain true to this deplorable monster. The problem is, there is no convincing case made as to why she feels so bound to him - most of the town is on her side and sees her marriage to him as wrong in the first place. Pierre Lebeau's role as the utterly detestable Seraphin is convincing however, which makes the supporting roles that much more absurd.