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© 2026 The Couch Critic
Browse 39 movies from ACPAV
Montreal, 1904. Giuseppe and Ninetta own a boarding house where they welcome their fellow Sicilians. One day, as he comes to the defence of one of his boarders, Giuseppe accidentally kills Theo, his French Canadian best friend’s son-in-law. This drama depicts the tensions between people from different ethnic backgrounds and their life-changing impact. Based on a true story, 'The Saracen Woman' paints a portrait of Italian immigration to Quebec and the affinities and conflicts that arose from the clash of two different cultures.
Feb 1992
Fresh out of prison, Toni struggles to reconnect with her daughter Anna, who was raised by her grandmother Betty, while resisting the pull of her ex-lover Max's criminal world. Working at her uncle Frank's restaurant, she discovers his smuggling ties and Max involves her in a violent altercation on the docks. She faces pressure from the police and seeks redemption by getting away from Max. But trouble catches up with her, putting her family in danger. Toni will take all the risks to finally find a chance for her future with Anna and Betty.
Mar 2026
After her brother's death, Alice leave France for Japan and takes refuge in a small village just above the cliffs. Her brother Nathan said to her before he died that he finally founded peace there thanks to a certain Daïsuké. Following his footsteps, Alice will in fact find herself, in a strange and hostile but warm place.
Mar 2016
At a maximum security prison, there is preparation for the annual party where entertainers and strippers are scheduled to perform. But not everyone is having fun. A man is sent to solitary, his wife has a nervous breakdown, and a convict prepares to make a daring escape.
Feb 1990
Solitary anarchist, Lucien Brouillard ceaselessly fights for his rights and those of his societal peers. His subversive whistleblower activities will bring him endless troubles, and he will begin a real descent into Hell after his former childhood friend, and now judge, Jacque Martineau.
Mar 1983
Sophie Deraspe’s adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy of the same name reimagines the story of a woman’s quest for justice as a commentary on the immigrant experience in contemporary Montreal.
Nov 2019
A father's love is not enough to keep his dreams and his family together in this drama. Joe Aiello (Tony Nardi) is an Italian immigrant who settled in Montreal and opened a construction firm in the early '60s. Thirty years later, Tony's business is a solid success, and Tony dreams of passing this legacy along to his family. But Tony's wife has passed on, his son Nuccio (Hugolin Chevrette Landesque) is developmentally disabled, and his daughter Bennie (Michele-Barbara Pelletier) can't decide what she wants to do with her life, dropping out of college against her father's wishes shortly before she is to graduate. Despite his disappointment with Nuccio and his exasperation with Bennie, Joe has a fierce love for his children, but Bennie feels that her father's affection is starting to crush her more than it nurtures her.
Sep 1998
In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Uprooted, far from his loved ones, unable to speak French and faced with a completely alien world, he becomes despondent. When he refuses to eat and expresses a wish to die, his nurse, Carole, comes to the realization that Tivii's illness is not the most serious threat to his well-being. She arranges to have a young orphan, Kaki, transferred to the institution. The boy is also sick, but has experience with both worlds and speaks both languages. By sharing his culture with Kaki and opening it up to others, Tivii rediscovers his pride and energy. Ultimately he also rediscovers hope through a plan to adopt Kaki, bring him home and make him part of his family
Aug 2008
A recent widow living in a small Quebec town goes to Montreal to visit her busy adult son and daughter, and then on a whim decides to travel to the town of her childhood, where she hadn't set foot in decades.
Feb 2018
With an enthralling central performance by Gilbert Sicotte, this masterful debut feature examines the life of the top car salesman in a fading Quebec town as events challenge the 67-year-old’s sense of identity and the meaning of life at the most profound level.
Nov 2011
Gaby owns a farm on which he raises lambs: Bouchard & Sons Farm. But he has no sons. Rather, he has two daughters that he raised like princesses and who live far away, in the big city. One day, the oldest asks him for some financial support so she doesn't end up losing her house...
Nov 2013
On the eve of her final moments, a woman recalls her alcoholic past. She revisits her entire youth, including a binge that, at 46, cost her everything she had: "Loneliness and aging are themes that impose themselves on me, in one form or another. As for alcoholism, it fascinates me because of the revolt it underpins, and revolts me because of the unhappiness it creates around itself.
Mar 2001
Even though the protagonist of the Canadian Femme De L'Hotel is a female filmmaker, one would think twice before suggesting that this effort by Swiss-born director Lea Pool is autobiographical. Paule Baillargeon portrays a well-known director who returns to her home town of Montreal to film a high-budget musical drama. At her hotel, Paule has a brief but unsettling encounter with a suicidal elderly woman (Louise Marleau). This element of the plot is briefly forgotten as we get to know the actors in Paule's current project. Then she meets the old lady again, and with mounting incredulity Paule discovers that the actual events in the woman's life mirror the fictional events in the director's film.
Aug 1984
In 1839, months after the British army has repressed the insurrection of the Patriots, hundreds of rebels are still in prison. The morning of February 14, Marie-Thomas Chevalier De Lorimier and Charles Hindelang learn that they will be hung in 24 hours, with three others. While they await their death the condemned spend time and consult with companions and loved ones as well as entrust to those their last wills. At dawn, the five Patriots will walk to the scaffold, knowing will they die.
Jan 2001
Reynold is dying of cancer. He uses his last meals to share them with his daughter. As the meal progresses, a ritual begins to take hold, the dishes acting as reminders of the past. Vanessa discovers who her father really is.
Sep 2024
A doctor is confronted with his own illness.
Aug 2015
Two men bond as one recovers from an attack and the other deals with the impending death of his grandmother.
Aug 2005
A woman travels from the big city to the countryside. The locals are suspicious.
Feb 2015
Tinamer is 27 years old when her mother dies. The funeral of this last one makes her relive certain events of her childhood which marked her forever.
Jan 1987
The sleepy town where Léo lives doesn’t offer her much chance of self-fulfilment. Extricating herself from her mother’s influence and her constricting environment isn’t easy for the frustrated young woman, yet happiness might be close at hand. A stylistically precise, pop-impressionistic film about a girl’s quest to find out who she really is, featuring the captivating Karelle Tremblay in the lead role.
Jun 2018