Les Ordres


Orders is a 1974 Quebec historical drama film about the incarceration of innocent civilians during the 1970 October Crisis and the War Measures Act enacted by the Canadian government of Pierre Trudeau. It is the second film by director Michel Brault. It features entertainer and Senator Jean Lapointe.

Plot

The film tells the story of five of those incarcerated civilians. It is scripted but is inspired by a number of interviews with actual prisoners made during the events and its style is heavily inspired by the Quebec school of Cinéma vérité. It is a docufiction.

Cast

It shared a Cannes Film Festival Award in 1975 and four Canadian Film Awards the same year. It was also selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 48th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.