''Family Game'' () is a Canadian crime drama film, directed by

Rafaël Ouellet Rafaël Ouellet is a Canadian screenwriter and film director from Dégelis, Quebec. He is most noted for his 2012 film '' Camion'', for which he received Jutra Award nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing at the 15th Jutra ...

and released in 2022.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Arsenault et fils – Film de Rafaël Ouellet"
''Films du Québec'', June 13, 2022. Set in the

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...

region of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, the film centres on the Arsenaults, a family who have been involved in illegal

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

and reselling of wild meat out of the back of the family-owned

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

. Older son Adam ( Guillaume Cyr) wants to get out of the criminal enterprise and run the business honestly, but finds his plans complicated by the return of his more criminally inclined younger brother Anthony (Pierre-Paul Alain) and the arrival in the town of Émilie (

Karine Vanasse Karine Vanasse (, ; born 24 November 1983) is a Canadian actress, who had roles in the films '' Polytechnique'', '' Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché)'', ''Switch'' and '' Set Me Free (Emporte-moi)''. Internationally ...

), a radio host. The film's cast also includes

Luc Picard Luc Picard (born 24 September 1961) is a French Canadian actor, director and comedian. Early life and education Picard was born on 24 September 1961, in Lachine, Quebec, Canada. He trained at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal, ...

as Adam and Anthony's father André,

Julien Poulin Julien Poulin (; April 20, 1946 – January 4, 2025) was a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He portrayed numerous roles in several popular Quebec films and series. Elvis Gratton films His most memorable role was El ...

as their grandfather Armand, and

Micheline Lanctôt Micheline Lanctôt (born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician. Biography Lanctôt was born in Frelighsburg, Quebec. Her post-secondary education was in music, fine arts, and theatre at ''Collège Jés ...

as their grandmother Irène.

Production

Ouellet has described the film as an attempt to incorporate influences from ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', '' GoodFellas'' and the films of James Gray into his own filmmaking style, which has traditionally been character drama driven by dialogue rather than plot. The film was shot in and around Ouellet's own hometown of

Dégelis Dégelis () is a city in Témiscouata Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. Its population in the Canada 2021 Census was 2,884. The Madawaska River flows from Lake Témiscouata, through Degelis, to join ...

in 2021, and had its commercial theatrical premiere in June 2022.François Lévesque
"«Arsenault et fils»: la bête ténébreuse"
''

Le Devoir (, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...

'', June 17, 2022.

Awards

References

External links

* *
Arsenault & Sons
' (version in French with English subtitles) at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

2022 films 2022 crime drama films Canadian crime drama films Films directed by Rafaël Ouellet French-language Canadian films 2020s Canadian films {{2020s-Canada-film-stub