Antigone

Year: 2019

Duration: 109 min

Despite the drama surrounding her family's immigration, Antigone has adapted well to North American life. With her sister Ismene, her brothers Eteocles and Polynices, and her grandmother Menoeceus, the teen lives a modest but relatively quiet life in a working-class Montréal neighbourhood. Tragedy again strikes the family when Antigone's older brother, Eteocles, is wrongfully gunned down by police during the arrest of their brother Polynices, a small-time dealer.With one brother dead and the other in jail and threatened with expulsion to his country of origin, the family is more divided than ever. Antigone, despite her youth, motivated by her sense of duty towards her family, and fuelled by the memory she cherishes of her dead parents, will defy the law to save what is left of the family. Aided by her sister (even though she does not share Antigone's sense of sacrifice), Antigone decides to help Polynices escape from jail.Her plan succeeds, and Polynices is now free and on the lam. But Antigone is herself quickly unmasked. Interrogated by a detective determined to capture Polynices, she comes face to face with a rigid judicial system and intractable penal authorities. The brilliant student and model citizen finds the vice-grip tightening around her. Her convictions are shaken when she learns the extent of her brothers' illegal activities and sees how the media and public opinion now brand her as a criminal. While her friend Haemon fights against her incarceration in a center for juvenile delinquents, his father, Christian, is drawn into negotiations with the girl. A well-intentioned paternal figure, Christian empathizes with what Antigone is going through. But concerned with his image as a politician and duty as a citizen, he cannot allow himself to take her side. Not yet...A witness to the suffering of the other girls in the youth center, Antigone becomes all the more convinced that justice is not to be found in the legal texts, rules, and forces that serve to maintain public order. She steps into the role of protector to the most vulnerable of her fellow detainees, thus reinforcing her opposition to the authorities. Antigone is bolstered by the growing solidarity among the girls, and by her new self-confidence. Her sacrifice now extends beyond the strict limits of her family to influence the actions of the chorus - her peers who, in social media and colourful demonstrations, identify with this young woman who rejects the law of men, embracing instead her own law, which is dictated by her heart. She turns down the offer meant to secure her future, in favour of an absolute ideal. Although she risks grave consequences, her determination and sacrifice are reinforced by the solidarity she feels. Antigone is no longer just a teenager taking on the authorities who condemn her. She is the embodiment of love and fidelity to her values.

Genre: Action   Crime   Drama