''The Heat Line'' () is a 1988

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

drama film, directed by Hubert-Yves Rose.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 96. The film stars

Gabriel Arcand Gabriel Arcand (born June 4, 1949) is a Canadian actor. He is the brother of film director Denys Arcand. Career After studying philosophy at McGill University, Arcand spent his formative professional years at La Criée in Marseille, France, a ...

as Robert Filion, a divorced man who is travelling with his young son Maxime (Simon Gonzalez) to Florida to identify and claim the body of his father Eugène (played by

Gérard Poirier Gérard Poirier (4 February 1930 – 19 December 2021) was a Canadian actor and director. Life and career Born in Montreal in 1930, Poirier began acting in the theatre at the age of 12. He graduated from the Collège André-Grasset in 1952 an ...

in flashbacks and hallucinations) after the older man's death of a sudden heart attack. The film's cast also includes

Gerard Parkes Gerard Parkes (October 16, 1924 – October 19, 2014) was an Irish-Canadian actor. He was born in Dublin and moved to Toronto in 1956. He is known for playing Doc on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television series ''Fraggle Rock'' and ...

as Norman Simpson, a retired American man they meet on the trip who appears to be trying to ingratiate himself into Robert's life as a replacement father figure, and

Charlotte Boisjoli Charlotte Boisjoli (June 12, 1923 – January 30, 2001) was an actress, director, writer and educator in Quebec, Canada. She was born in Quebec City and first performed with the theatre group Compagnons de Saint-Laurent. She earned a master's ...

as Robert's mother.Jean Chantale
"Hubert Yves Rose's La Ligne de Chaleur"
''

Cinema Canada ''Cinema Canada'' (1972–1989) is a defunct Canadian film magazine, which served as the trade journal of record for the Canadian film and television sector. The magazine had its origins in the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), which be ...

'', November 1988. p. 28. The film premiered in the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

program at the

1988 Cannes Film Festival The 41st Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1988. Italian filmmaker Ettore Scola served as jury president for the main competition. Danish filmmaker Bille August won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for his drama film ...

, and had its Canadian premiere at the

1988 Toronto International Film Festival The 13th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 8 and September 17, 1988. ''Midnight Madness'' programme was introduced at the festival. The festival screened more than 300 films from all ...

Response

In his book ''A Century of Canadian Cinema'',

described the film as "a difficult theme almost lost in the monotony". Writing for ''

'', Jean Chantale reviewed the film more positively, calling it "deeply satisfying" and evocative, and concluding that "''La Ligne de Chaleur'' is like attending your own funeral. It should not be missed. You will marvel at what you learn about relationships you thought you had pegged."

Richard Grégoire Richard Grégoire (born May 18, 1944) is a Canadian film and television composer from Montreal, Quebec.Pierre Rochon, Christian Rioux and Annie Joan Gagnon"Richard Grégoire" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', February 7, 2006. He is most noted for h ...

received a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nomination for Best Original Score at the

10th Genie Awards The 10th Genie Awards were held on March 22, 1989 to honour achievements of Canadian films which were released in 1988."Dead Ringers tops at Genies". ''Montreal Gazette'', March 23, 1989. The event was held at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in T ...

."Genie award nominees: complete list". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', February 14, 1989.

References

External links

* 1988 films 1980s drama road movies Canadian drama road movies Quebec films 1980s French-language films French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub