''Those Damned Savages'' () is a Canadian drama film, directed by

Jean Pierre Lefebvre Jean Pierre Lefebvre (; born 17 August 1941) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is widely admired as "the godfather of independent Canadian cinema," particularly among young, independent filmmakers. Biography Jean Pierre Lefebvre studied literature a ...

and released in 1971.

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. 217. A satirical critique of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

, the film explores its thesis that racist attitudes toward

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

have not changed through a narrative that places various real historical figures from the 17th century in modern-day

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. The film stars Rachel Cailhier as Tékacouita, a young Mohawk woman in New France who is taken to the city by ''coureur de bois'' Thomas Hébert (Pierre Dufresne) to work as a domestic servant, after being forcibly separated from her fiancé. In Montreal, Thomas forces Tékacouita to work as a

go-go dancer Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo, located in the town of Juan-les-Pins. The bar's ...

in a nightclub, where she repeatedly deals with attempted

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

and other modern problems until her fiancé arrives to save her.Bill Marshall, ''Quebec National Cinema''. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001. . pp. 256-257. The film's cast also includes Nicole Filion as

Jeanne Mance Jeanne Mance (; November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hos ...

, Luc Granger as abbé Frelaté and

Marcel Sabourin Marcel Sabourin, OC (born March 25, 1935) is a Canadian actor and writer from Quebec.Gaetan Charlebois and Anne Nothof"Sabourin, Marcel" ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', October 20, 2015. He is most noted for his role as Abel Gagné, the centra ...

Jean Talon Jean Talon, Count d'Orsainville (; January 8, 1626 – November 23, 1694) was a French colonial administrator who served as the first Intendant of New France. Talon was appointed by King Louis XIV and his minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, t ...

. 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

1971 Cannes Film Festival The 24th Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 27 May 1971. French actress Michèle Morgan served as jury president for the main competition. The ''Grand Prix du Festival International du Film'', then the fetival's main prize, was awarded ...

."Cannes critics praise films from Quebec". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', May 21, 1971.

References

External links

* 1971 films 1971 drama films Canadian drama films Films directed by Jean Pierre Lefebvre First Nations films 1970s French-language films French-language Canadian films 1970s Canadian films {{1970s-Canada-film-stub