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Léolo

Released Sep 16, 1992 1h 47m Comedy Drama List
90% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Young Léo Lauzon (Maxime Collin) lives in a Montreal apartment building with his troubled and highly eccentric family, but he spends much of his time in his own imagination. Devising a strange fantasy world where his mother (Ginette Reno) conceived him with an Italian tomato, Léo attempts to cope with his unsettling reality by retreating into his mind, with his meandering thoughts often drifting to his gorgeous neighbor, Bianca (Giuditta Del Vecchio).

Critics Reviews

View All (10) Critics Reviews
Hollis Chacona Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Hal Hinson Washington Post A disturbing, imaginative, beautifully realized film. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times I felt alive when I was watching it. Rated: 4/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Every degrading sight in Lauzon's film is balanced with the filmmaker's tenderness and honesty, resulting in a strangely affecting and personal work of grotesque art.  Rated: 4/4 May 2, 2022 Full Review Quentin Curtis Independent on Sunday It tries too hard, and Leolo's Gauloisey voice-over tells us too much. Dec 8, 2017 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Caught the big picture in a strikingly fresh way. Rated: B+ Feb 25, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (310) audience reviews
Jack G One of the best Canadian films ever. A work of cinematic genius. It takes so many risks of obscenity and never loses its soul. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/09/24 Full Review Alejandro E One of several examples of films about children for adults. It is incredible that, despite its aroma of rotten eggs, the story continues to captivate the viewer with a hook that does not require much science or explanation: its bitter closeness to reality. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/25/23 Full Review Audience Member I was under extreme duress watching this film . The bribe I received was not worth it even if the item I received was worth over 100$ in exchange for having seen this revolting Garbage. I draw the line with a story about a Sociopath who has a history of mental illnesses. Anyone who has no problems torturing Animals or killing his elders is on the bottom of my list! May God have mercy on the meat we have to eat after watching this trash. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member If one were to take the joyous nostalgia of Fellini's "Amarcord" and invert it into a kind of solemn,disturbing, and introspective poem filtered through the vulnerable lens of childhood, one would be nearing an approximation of Lauzon's "Leolo." The film issues forth like a half-remembered dream, drawing us into a whirlpool of childhood recollections which ever bear the hallmark of an impressionable prepubescent boy's imagination. We feel the film more keenly than we understand it, and we relish its sense of magic and wonder, all beautifully underscored by a dichotomous soundtrack which exists in equal parts Gregorian chant and gritty, alcohol-besotted squall. The film so deftly navigates the boundary between the real and the imagined that the two convincingly bleed together, and we are content to abandon ourselves to its unique sense of vision. It must be noted that "Leolo" is ever poised to transgress our sense of propriety, but we sense a somber honesty inherent in the material that fully justifies its controversy. The end result is an experience which stuns us with its creative vision while moving us with its somber and tragic honesty. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member I saw a trailer for this movie back in 1993 and was able to get a copy of it on VHS. I watched that film countless times in my early 20s. Nearly 25 years later I found it online and watched it again. I couldn't believe how much differently it affected me at this age. It was definitely part of the disturbing edgy indie trend in filmmaking in the 90s and I wasn't sure if it would hold up today. It absolutely does and I cried my eyes out at the end of the movie. At times the voiceover is a bit too precocious and contrived, but it is a minor offense in a movie that is a visual treat and a literary masterpiece. Do whatever you can to get a copy of it somehow. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Writer and director Jean-Claude Lauzon offers a rather gruesome and explicit drama, but with the benefit of an intriguing plot, a unique visual style and a beautiful script, this Canadian-French take on childhood could be a delight for the lovers of romanticism, and whether or not you're into its particular harsh point of view, the sole film's bizarre approach into reality and imagination should be enough to keep the viewer hooked in its premise. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Léolo

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Movie Info

Synopsis Young Léo Lauzon (Maxime Collin) lives in a Montreal apartment building with his troubled and highly eccentric family, but he spends much of his time in his own imagination. Devising a strange fantasy world where his mother (Ginette Reno) conceived him with an Italian tomato, Léo attempts to cope with his unsettling reality by retreating into his mind, with his meandering thoughts often drifting to his gorgeous neighbor, Bianca (Giuditta Del Vecchio).
Director
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Producer
Aimee Danis, Lyse Lafontaine
Screenwriter
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Distributor
Fine Line Features
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 16, 1992, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 25, 2005
Box Office (Gross USA)
$547.3K
Runtime
1h 47m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby
Aspect Ratio
35mm, 1.66:1