{{Infobox film | name = Desire in Motion | image = | caption = Film poster | native_name = ''Mouvements du désir'' | director = [[Léa Pool]] | producer = [[Denise Robert]] | writer = Léa Pool | starring = [[Jean-François Pichette]]<br>[[Valérie Kaprisky]] | music = [[Zbigniew Preisner]] | cinematography = [[Pierre Mignot]] | editing = [[Michel Arcand]] | studio = Cinémaginaire<br>National Film Board of Canada<br>CatPics Coproductions | released = {{Film date|1994|2|3|[[Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois|RVCQ]]}} | runtime = 93 minutes | country = Canada<br>Switzerland | language = French | budget = }} '''''Desire in Motion''''' (French: '''''Mouvements du désir''''') is a 1994 Canadian-Swiss [[drama film]] written and directed by [[Léa Pool]].<ref>"Queen of melancholy puts a love story on the rails: Jean-Francois Pichette and Valerie Kaprisky in Mouvements du Desir". ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'', January 6, 1994.</ref> Starring [[Valérie Kaprisky]] and [[Jean-François Pichette]], the film follows two passengers who become attracted to one another during a train journey across Canada. It received eight [[Genie Awards|Genie Award]] nominations.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />
== Synopsis == Catherine travels by train from [[Montreal]] to [[Vancouver]] with her young daughter Charlotte, hoping to leave behind a failed relationship. Vincent, another passenger, is travelling for reasons connected to his own love life.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=7 February 1994 |title=Mouvements Du Desir Desire in Motion |url=https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/mouvements-du-desir-desire-in-motion-1200435936/ |access-date=5 May 2026 |website=Variety}}</ref> Although Catherine and Vincent do not initially connect, they become increasingly attracted to one another during the journey.<ref>"A love story with brains and beauty". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', June 24, 1994.</ref><ref name=":0" /> Their encounter is interwoven with dream sequences and episodes involving eccentric passengers.<ref name=":0" />
== Cast == The cast includes:<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Mouvements du Désir |url=https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/501848/mouvements-du-desir |access-date=5 May 2026 |website=Filmdienst |language=de}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Ramond |first=Charles-Henri |title=Mouvements du désir – Film de Léa Pool |url=https://www.filmsquebec.com/films/mouvements-du-desir-lea-pool/ |access-date=5 May 2026 |website=Films du Québec |language=fr}}</ref>
* [[Valérie Kaprisky]] as Catherine * [[Jean-François Pichette]] as Vincent * Jolianne L’Allier-Matteau as Charlotte * Jacques William as Tom * Mathew Mackay as Tadzio * [[Élise Guilbault]] as the blind woman * Noémie Yelle as Mélanie, the blind woman’s daughter
== Production == The film was written and directed by [[Léa Pool]]. Produced as a Quebec-Swiss co-production, it was made by [[Cinémaginaire]] and the [[National Film Board of Canada]], with Swiss co-production participation from CatPics Coproductions. Filming took place over eight weeks in two moving [[Via Rail]] train cars, as well as in Toronto and Vancouver.<ref name=":2" />
Pool’s screenplay was inspired by [[Roland Barthes]]’ essay ''[[A Lover's Discourse: Fragments|A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments]]'' and includes partly [[Federico Fellini|Fellini]]-esque characters.<ref>"Director mines deep veins of love's nuances". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', June 24, 1994.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mouvements du désir |url=https://www.filmpodium.ch/film/167324/mouvements-du-desir |access-date=5 May 2026 |website=Filmpodium |language=de}}</ref>
== Release == The film premiered at the [[Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois]] on February 3, 1994.<ref>"Moving Mouvements opens festival of Quebec cinema". ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'', February 4, 1994.</ref>
== Reception == ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote that ''Desire in Motion'' was Pool’s “most accessible, viewer-friendly” film to date, while retaining her “moody, introspective style” and “innovative formal flourishes”.<ref name=":0" /> ''[[Filmdienst]]'' described the film as a melancholic reflection on the emergence of love and passion, but wrote that it was weakened by unconvincing music.<ref name=":1" /> ''Filmbulletin'' wrote that Charlotte was the only character given real complexity. It described the two main characters as surprisingly flat, and wrote that the film’s depiction of female sexuality drew on stale male myths.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mouvements du désir |url=https://www.filmbulletin.ch/articles/mouvments-du-desir |access-date=5 May 2026 |website=Filmbulletin |language=de}}</ref>
==Awards and nominations== The film received eight [[Genie Awards|Genie Award]] nominations, but did not win any.<ref>"The Genie nominees". ''[[Kingston Whig-Standard]]'', October 20, 1994.</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Léa Pool |url=https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lea-pool |access-date=5 May 2026 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb title|id=0110581}}
{{Léa Pool}}
[[Category:Films directed by Léa Pool]] [[Category:Canadian drama films]] [[Category:1994 films]] [[Category:French-language Canadian films]] [[Category:1994 Canadian films]]