Soft Shell Man

Soft Shell Man is director Andre Turpin's second feature, but he can also add writer and cinematographer (on, amongst others, Denis Villeneuve's beautiful and brilliant Maelstrom) to his record. In translation, the French title reads ''a crab in the head'', which Turpin describes as ''the feeling you get when you want to say no, but you say yes instead. It's a bug in your head''. ''The soft shell man'' is Alex, a charming and narcissis- tic underwater photographer, who returns to Montreal after a diving accident in the Indian Ocean. An accident that leaves him with both ''a bug in the head'' and some mysterious photos taken just before he fell unconscious after plunging into the depths. In Montreal, Alex is surrounded by people who demand things of him: from his media-obsessed agent to his clingy drug-dealer. A compulsive lover and incapable of saying no, Alex tries his best to please everyone, getting involved with his pushover best friend's gorgeous deaf girlfriend along the way. Played by David LaHaye, Alex has the standard rugged/sulky French looks but this is not your standard romantic comedy. Good performances from all the actors, combined with beautiful cinematography, also add to the film's success. Åsa Gustafsson

Premiärstatus
Svensk premiär: Orig. titel
Un Crabe dans la Tête: Medverkande
David La Haye, Isabelle Blais, Chantal Giroux: Producent
Luc Déry, Joseph Hillel: Manus
André Turpin: Foto
André Turpin: Talat språk
French