The Little Book of Revenge (Guide de la Petite Vengeance) is a spectacularly funny, witty, French-Canadian masterpiece, by the brilliant director Jean-Francois Pouliot (Seducing Dr. Lewis, Emily of New Moon, Canada Vignettes) chronicling the subtle dramatic parody of a semi-pro heist of a jewelry store by Robert (Michel Muller) the estranged boss’s son, and Bernard (Marc Beland) the boss’s accountant. Their relationship to the sinister and psychologically overpowering Monsieur Vendome (Gabriel Gascon, the father, and boss) are the root of their “small vengeance”.
If this sounds a bit far-fetched it’s because it is. One of the motifs of the films is that “life isn’t always perfect” but, in fact, it turns out rather beautifully in the movie. Robert’s girlfriend takes him back — founded on a brilliant lie, nevertheless — and he escapes death after being found out and thoroughly beaten. Not only does he escape but, to top it all off, he leaves for his dream residence in Mexico, along with his lover and daughter.
But, at the same time, these events don’t really bear any comparison to the execution of the filmmaker, who convinces you every step of the way that he could make the most boring film, the most mundane, seem absolutely entertaining, adorable, subtle, layered and, most of all, brilliantly funny (as he’s done with over 500 commercial in his day).
The story jumps off the pages very much like Amelie, Children of Heaven, or films like Delicatessen or City of Lost Children — where imagery, excess, absolute fantasy and grand perspectives far outweigh and exceed the need for plot. Jean-Francois Pouliot could film characters sleep and we’d still be entertained and intrigued.
PICTURE CREDIT: VIFF Media Library
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