Pour la suite du monde

Plot synopsis

A work of ethnofiction, for centuries the inhabitants of Ile-aux-Coudres, a small island in the St. Lawrence River, trapped beluga whales by sinking a weir of saplings into the offshore mud at low tide. After 1920, the practice was abandoned. In 1962, a team of National Film Board of Canada filmmakers led by director Perrault and cinematographer Brault arrived on the island to make a cinéma-vérité documentary about the people and their isolated life. They encouraged the islanders to revive the practice of beluga fishing.

Reception

The resulting film was hugely popular in Quebec, and today is recognized as a classic of Canadian cinema. Pour la suite du monde has been consistently ranked by critics as one of the best ever made and it represents a major development in the Direct Cinema movement, moving away from simple observation to a more immediate participation and a great emphasis on the words of the people portrayed. It received a Special Award and was named Film of the Year at the 1964 Canadian Film Awards. In 1984 the Toronto International Film Festival ranked the film eighth in the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time.

The film features local residents Léopold Tremblay, Alexis Tremblay, Abel Harvey, Louis Harvey and Joachim Harvey, along with a narrator.

Cast

Alternate English versions and titles

The film has been screened in various versions and with no less than four English-language titles. At its 1963 Cannes premiere, it was billed as For Those Who Will Follow. The NFB has also promoted the film in English as Of Whales, the Moon and Men or The Moontrap, depending upon whether it was the 105 minute or 84 minute version, respectively. The release of a 2007 "Île-aux-Coudres Trilogy" DVD trilogy also translates the film title as For the Ones to Come.

The film is commonly referred to as simply Pour la suite du monde in both French and English.