This scrupulously accurate historical film, based on the letters of Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, recounts the last day of the Patriots of the Revolution of Upper and Lower Canada, before their hanging by the British authorities on 15 February 1839. An intimate, stylish film, it shows in a timeless way the nationalist aspirations of the francophone and Canadian minorities under British colonization, and the universal dimension of the questions that are always brewing in nationalist movements, the desire for freedom and the courage individuals must have to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of their dreams. 15 February 1839 is Pierre Falardeau’s most accomplished and most artistic film, in which the question of dying with courage and dignity for a cause that is almost certainly lost is addressed with a profound sense of humanity.

Pierre Falardeau (1946-2009)

Pierre Falardeau was a colourful and controversial director and an advocate for Quebec independence.  He was the maker of populist film fare, such as the Elvis Gratton movies and The Party (1990), but also of highly polemical takes on Canadian history, most notoriously, Octobre (1994). This treatment of the October crisis and the FLQ was criticized by some as an apology for terrorism.