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The Coffin Affair
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Wikipedia article
'The Coffin Affair' is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, released in 1980."Two films share theme, but miles apart in style". 'The Globe and Mail', September 30, 1980. Directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque, the film is a dramatization of the Coffin affair of 1953.
The film stars August Schellenberg as Wilbert Coffin. The cast also includes Gabriel Arcand, Micheline Lanctt, Roger Lebel, Aubert Pallascio, Yvon Dufour and Raymond Cloutier.
The film reignited the controversy over Coffin's conviction and execution. Jules Deschnes, the Quebec Superior Court judge who had presided over the 1964 inquiry into Coffin's conviction, publicly claimed that the filmmakers "twisted the facts to accommodate their personal convictions and thus present a slanderous portrait of the judicial system to the viewing public";"Old sores rubbed in Quebec press over Coffin affair". 'The Globe and Mail', October 13, 1980. Jacques Hbert, the journalist who had initiated the original controversy with his 1963 book 'J'accuse les assassins de Coffin' and had been a consultant on the film, responded with an open letter in 'La Presse' in response to Deschnes' allegations."Journalist nails judge in new Coffin contest". 'The Globe and Mail', October 14, 1980.
Critical response
The film received mostly favourable reviews, although Jay Scott criticized the English-language dubbing, saying that it sounded like it had been dubbed by news announcers: "August Schellenberg 'appears' to give an extraordinary performance as the condemned Wilbert Coffin, but the quality of the film over all, thanks to disembodied Esperanto voices reading the script as if it were a speech by Ed Schreyer, is anyone's guess.""Toronto's Quebec film test offers good, bad and superb". 'The Globe and Mail', April 18, 1981.
Awards
The film garnered four Genie Award nominations at the 2nd Genie Awards in 1981:
*Best Actor: August Schellenberg
*Best Supporting Actress: Micheline Lanctt
*Best Director: Jean-Claude Labrecque
*Best Original Screenplay: Jean-Claude Labrecque and Jacques Benoit.
References
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