Léolo

{{short description|1992 film by Jean-Claude Lauzon}} {{Infobox film | name = Léolo | image = Léolo poster.jpg | director = [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]] | producer = [[Aimée Danis]] [[Lyse Lafontaine]] | writer = Jean-Claude Lauzon | starring = [[Gilbert Sicotte]] [[Maxime Collin]] [[Ginette Reno]] [[Giuditta del Vecchio]] [[Julien Guiomar]] | distributor = [[Alliance Communications Corporation]] | released = {{film date|1992|5|17}} | runtime = 107 minutes | country = Canada | language = French | budget = $5 million<ref name="Lemieux">{{Cite web|url=http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2012/07/31/joyeux-anniversaire-leolo |title=Joyeux anniversaire Léolo |last=Lemieux |first=Marc-André |date=31 July 2012 |access-date=26 August 2016 |work=[[Le Journal de Montréal]]}}</ref> }} '''''Léolo''''' is a 1992 Canadian [[coming-of-age film|coming-of-age]] [[fantasy film|fantasy]] [[comedy-drama]] written and directed by [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]]. The film tells the story of a young boy named Léo "Léolo" Lauzon, played by [[Maxime Collin]], who engages in an active [[Fantasy (psychology)|fantasy life]] while growing up with his Montreal family, and begins to have sexual fantasies about his neighbour Bianca, played by [[Giuditta del Vecchio]]. The film also stars [[Ginette Reno]], [[Pierre Bourgault]], [[Andrée Lachapelle]], [[Denys Arcand]], [[Julien Guiomar]], and [[Germain Houde]]. [[Gilbert Sicotte]] narrates the film as the adult Léolo.

With a story developed by Lauzon as a semi-autobiographical work, the project was supported by producer [[Lyse Lafontaine]] as a co-production with [[Cinema of France|France]]. Filming took place in Montreal and [[Sicily]] in 1991. It was Lauzon's second and final film, as he died in a [[Accidents and incidents in aviation|plane crash]] in 1997 while working on his next project.

Initially released in the [[1992 Cannes Film Festival]], ''Léolo'' won three [[13th Genie Awards|Genie Awards]], including [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] for Lauzon, losing [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture|Best Motion Picture]] to ''[[Naked Lunch (film)|Naked Lunch]]''. It later benefited from a resurgence of interest, leading to critics and filmmakers adding it to the [[Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time]] in 2015. The film also influenced the naming of the movie review aggregator website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], when site co-creator Senh Duong decided upon the site name while viewing the film.<ref>{{Cite web |title=21 Fun Facts and Stats From 21 Years of Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/rt-21-fun-facts/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[65th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee.

==Plot== In [[Mile End, Montreal]], Léo Lauzon is a young boy living in a tenement with his [[dysfunctional family]], serving as the [[unreliable narrator]]. He uses his active fantasy life and the book ''L'avalée des avalés'' by [[Québécois (word)|Québécois]] novelist [[Réjean Ducharme]] to escape the reality of his life. He feels his father is insane and denies being his son. After having a dream revealing his mother was impregnated after falling into a cart of tomatoes contaminated by an Italian man's semen, Léo identifies as Italian rather than [[French Canadian]] and adopts the name Léolo Lozone.

[[File:Parce que.jpg|200px|thumb|Léolo reads ''L'avalée des avalés'' by [[Réjean Ducharme]].]] Growing up in an apartment with a rat in the bathtub, a [[turkey (bird)|turkey]] and a family obsessed with regular bowel movements, Léolo continues to write. His writings are discovered by the Word Tamer, a reincarnation of [[Don Quixote]], who searches through trash for letters and photographs. Léolo observes a neighbouring young woman named Bianca and imagines her singing to him from a closet, emitting a white light. His grandfather, who Léolo believes attempted to murder him by holding him under a pool, helps her financially and extorts her for sexual favours, revealing her breasts and putting his feet in her mouth. Léolo begins to fantasize about Bianca sexually and discovers [[masturbation]]. Meanwhile, his brother Fernand, after being beaten by a bully and having failed a [[special education]] class, builds up muscles. Word Tamer, continuously monitoring Léolo's thoughts, reads the boy's hopes about how Fernand's muscles will make them invincible. However, upon being confronted by the bully for the second time, Fernand is overwhelmed with fear and is beaten again while Léolo watches in shock.

Finally convinced his grandfather is responsible for all of the family's troubles, Léolo attempts to lower a noose and hang his grandfather while he is in the bath. His grandfather sees Léolo doing it and is choked, before finally being freed, with Léolo injured in the process. Léolo subsequently goes to the hospital, where he is told his actions could constitute [[attempted murder]], though he is not charged. Reacting with horror to the ways other boys are pursuing sex, he seeks out the services of a [[prostitution in Canada|prostitute]] named Regina. Upon later becoming ill, he ends up in the same institution where many other members of his family have been treated.

==Cast== {{castlist| * [[Gilbert Sicotte]] – Narrator (voice) * [[Maxime Collin]] – Leolo * [[Ginette Reno]] – Mother * [[Julien Guiomar]] – Grandfather * [[Pierre Bourgault]] – Word Tamer * [[Giuditta Del Vecchio]] – Bianca * [[Andrée Lachapelle]] – Psychiatrist * [[Denys Arcand]] – Councillor * [[Germain Houde]] – Teacher * [[Yves Montmarquette]] – Fernand * [[Lorne Brass]] – Fernand's Enemy * [[Roland Blouin]] – Father * [[Geneviève Samson]] – Rita * [[Marie-Hélène Montpetit]] – Nanette * [[Francis St-Onge]] – Leolo, age 6 }}

==Themes and interpretations== ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' remarked on the classical allusions in the story: :Léolo dreams of Sicily, of sunlight and Greek ruins, and of a slender Italian girl, Bianca, a neighbor, whom he imagines standing on a hill in [[Taormina]] singing to him. Léolo is meant to be a modern [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] sitting in one of the dark [[circles of hell|circles of his hell]], and Bianca is his [[Beatrice Portinari|Beatrice]].<ref>{{cite magazine |date= 3 May 1993 |title=Movies |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |page=95}}</ref>

The story is also related with a "dreamlike environment", with "choral music" that evokes "the possibility of spiritual transcendence". Part of the way the narrative shifts from natural to fantasy elements is through the Word Tamer character, who becomes "an omniscient god-like observer".{{sfn|Rist|2001|p=124}} Author Bill Marshall assessed the Word Tamer as one of the benign elders, as opposed to the bad ones, and hypothesized that the Word Tamer's abode, [[Federico Fellini]]'s [[Cinecittà]] property, symbolizes the film's "exaggerated, grotesque realism".{{sfn|Marshall|2001|p=116}}

[[File:George Melnyk 2014.jpg|thumb|Canadian historian [[George Melnyk]] discussed the film's possible statements on Quebec's "national identity crisis".]] Some Canadian analysis of ''Léolo'' has related to possible political symbolism and Quebec's national identity. In 1992 at the Toronto International Film Festival, programming director Piers Handling called the film an "epitaph for Quebec", in which the title character rejects his Quebecois identity and joins another world by fantasy.<ref name="Brunette"/> Canadian historian [[George Melnyk]] remarked that [[Pierre Bourgault]] is a prominent Quebec separatist, but is not allowed to say much in the film, which also features the muscular Fernand intimidated by a smaller English Canadian, and non-Quebecois music, concluding the film represented a "national identity crisis".{{sfn|Pike|2012|p=149}} Among the cosmopolitan music uses is Tibetan-style chanting, and songs by [[The Rolling Stones]] and [[Tom Waits]].{{sfn|Marshall|2001|p=116}} Film scholar Jim Leach wrote that in real life, Lauzon would call himself a Canadian director, despite contemporary belief Quebec cinema was distinct.{{sfn|Leach|2007|p=49}} In the narration, the setting "Mile End, Montreal, Canada" does not mention Quebec, and Léolo's supposed Italian father refers to the tomatoes as destined for "[[Americas|America]]" rather than Quebec, though they are sold in Montreal.{{sfn|Leach|2007|p=55}} It is also thought the film is set in the late 1950s, in the "old Quebec" before the [[Quiet Revolution]].{{sfn|Melnyk|2014|p=49}}

However, Lauzon denied the film had any political meaning, saying he was not an intellectual,<ref name="Brunette"/> and his film "does not have the flag draped all over it".{{sfn|Pike|2012|p=149}} He also said he had an admiration for the Italian people.{{sfn|Leach|2007|p=51}} Leach questioned if the film is set before the Quiet Revolution, saying if Léolo was born in the 1950s, the 12-year-old character lived in 1965, and Ducharme's book seen in the film was published in 1967.{{sfn|Leach|2007|p=56}} Marshall noted the Ducharme novel would place the story in the 1960s, but argued "otherwise the feel is 1950s".{{sfn|Marshall|2001|p=116}}

==Production== ===Development=== Director [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]] wrote the screenplay, starting it in Sicily while shooting his first film ''[[Night Zoo]]''.{{sfn|Racine|2008|p=118}} It served in part as an [[autobiography]], with Lauzon stating he wrote it "almost in a state of trance" and was initially unsure how the storyline would develop or end.<ref name="Turan">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-11-ca-317-story.html |title=The Talk of Toronto Film Fest : Movies: Director Jean-Claude Lauzon's 'Leolo' plays to an enthusiastic audience on opening night |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |date=11 September 1992 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Before completing high school and going on to study film in university, Lauzon stated he had lived on "the criminal fringes" of Montreal streets, and his dark perspective is found in ''Léolo''.{{sfn|Toles|2002|p=275}} André Petrowski, a friend of Lauzon, also claimed the film depicted the "gross pathology" of the Lauzon family in a "very, very personal way".{{sfn|Melnyk|2014|p=270}}

Although Lauzon had offers to shoot Hollywood [[action film]]s after ''Night Zoo'' (1987),{{sfn|Leach|2007|p=55}} he instead presented the ''Léolo'' script to producer [[Lyse Lafontaine]]. Lafontaine stated the screenplay had been rejected by other producers and was difficult to read, but she found it "magic" and produced it with [[Aimée Danis]].<ref name="Dillon">{{Cite web|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2015/03/09/playback-canadian-film-tv-hall-of-fame-lyse-lafontaine/ |title=Playback Canadian Film & TV Hall of Fame: Lyse Lafontaine |last=Dillon |first=Mark |date=9 March 2015 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]}}</ref> The film had a $5 million budget.<ref name="Lemieux"/>

===Casting=== [[File:Ginette Reno Musée Grévin Montréal.JPG|thumb|[[Ginette Reno]], commemorated by wax sculpture at [[Musée Grévin Montreal]], played the mother after initially rejecting the part for the dark subject matter.]] Singer [[Ginette Reno]] was cast as the mother after initially rejecting the role, finding the subject matter was "too violent and rough". She was persuaded to star in the film, believing it might win her new fans, even if others were shocked by it.<ref name="Kelly">{{Cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/a-happy-birthday-to-ginette-reno |title=Life at the top doesn't faze energetic Reno |last=Kelly |first=Brendan |date=6 March 1996 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[The Montreal Gazette]]}}</ref> For the title role, [[Maxime Collin]] was cast at age 11.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/medium_large/2011-2012/chronique.asp?idChronique=241088 |title=Léolo, 20 ans plus tard |date=29 August 2012 |access-date=27 August 2016 |work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|Radio-Canada]]}}</ref>

For the part of the Word Tamer, who reads Léolo's writings, Lauzon cast his mentor, university professor [[Pierre Bourgault]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Alioff|first=Maurie |date=1992 |title=Léolo |magazine=[[Take One (Canadian magazine)|Take One]] No. 1|page=16}}</ref> Although in reality Bourgault is a strong proponent of the [[Quebec sovereignty movement]], Lauzon denied he was cast for political reasons.{{sfn|Leach|2007|p=51}} A bodybuilder, Yves Montmarquette, portrayed Fernand for the scenes after the character builds up his muscles.{{sfn|Pike|2012|p=150}}

Lafontaine's son Mikaël had a small part as a swimmer.<ref name="Petrowski"/> The film's French producers asked Lauzon to use actor [[Pierre Richard]] in the film, which he did not.{{sfn|Racine|2008|p=120}}

===Filming=== The film was shot over 58 days beginning in the fall of 1991, originally in Montreal.<ref name="Lemieux"/> In one scene, Léolo is seen sitting in front of a house, which was where Jean-Claude Lauzon was born.{{sfn|Leach|2007|p=56}} Reno spent three months filming ''Léolo'' over the fall of 1991.<ref name="Kelly"/> A second stage of filming took place briefly in [[Sicily]].<ref name="Lemieux"/>

Lafontaine found shooting the film difficult because of Lauzon's emotional swings,<ref name="Dillon"/> although Reno found him affectionate.<ref name="Lemieux"/> Lauzon asserted those who found him too temperamental to work with did not know him well, and he had a history of good relations with film departments.{{sfn|Racine|2008|p=120}} When Lafontaine traveled to Italy with Lauzon, he gave her a letter thanking her for her ineptitude in business, which he considered necessary to make a film with feeling. She kept it as a cherished keepsake.<ref name="Petrowski">{{Cite news|url=http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/cinema-quebecois/entrevues/201706/01/01-5103445-lyse-lafontaine-la-missionnaire-aventuriere-du-cinema.php |title=Lyse Lafontaine: la missionnaire aventurière du cinéma |last=Petrowski |first=Nathalie |date=1 June 2017 |access-date=5 June 2017 |work=[[La Presse (Canadian newspaper)|La Presse]]}}</ref>

In one scene, a boy commits an act of [[bestiality]] with a tied-down cat. Lauzon initially intended to use a [[puppet]] for the cat in a rehearsal, but the actor objected that it would be ridiculous, insisting on a real cat.<ref name="Alioff">{{cite magazine |last=Alioff|first=Maurie |date=1992 |title=Léolo |magazine=[[Take One (Canadian magazine)|Take One]] No. 1|page=18}}</ref>

==Release== The film was entered into the [[1992 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]] and screened on 17 May 1992, where it received a standing ovation.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Alioff|first=Maurie |date=1992 |title=Léolo |magazine=[[Take One (Canadian magazine)|Take One]] No. 1|page=15}}</ref><ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/9/year/1992.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Léolo |access-date=15 August 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004164706/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/9/year/1992.html |archive-date=4 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At Cannes, Lauzon supposedly told juror [[Jamie Lee Curtis]] he wanted to have sex with her, which ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' writer [[Kenneth Turan]] believed compromised the film's prospects of winning the [[Palme d'Or]].<ref name="Turan"/><ref name="Ebert">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-leolo-1993 |title=Great Movie: Leolo (1993) |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=31 July 2005 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=Rogerebert.com}}</ref> It was screened at the [[1992 Toronto International Film Festival]]<ref name="Turan"/> and the [[New York Film Festival]] in September 1992, distributed by [[Fine Line Features]].<ref name="Maslin">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE6DF163BF93AA1575AC0A964958260 |title=Review/Film Festival: Leolo; Fleeing Youthful Misery In Feats of the Mind |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=29 September 1992 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The film opened in Quebec in June,<ref name="Kelly"/> and in the U.S. in February 1993.<ref name="Turan"/> It had a release in 70 countries in total.<ref name="Variety2">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/people-news/jean-claude-lauzon-1116676582/ |title=Jean-Claude Lauzon |last=Variety Staff |date=12 August 1997 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

After Lauzon was killed in the northern Quebec plane crash in 1997, [[CBC Television]], [[Télé-Québec]] and [[Showcase (Canadian TV channel)|Showcase]] aired ''[[Night Zoo]]'' and ''Léolo'' in August, and [[Serge Losique]] announced an outdoor screening for ''Léolo'' at the [[Montreal World Film Festival]] in September.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://playbackonline.ca/1997/08/25/18631-19970825/ |title=Industry mourns Lauzon, Tougas |last=Playback Staff |date=25 August 1997 |access-date=26 August 2016 |work=[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]}}</ref> In 2014, ''Léolo'' was selected for a [[2K resolution|2K]] digital restoration for a screening in the Cannes Classics selection of the [[2014 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="Howell">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/04/30/quebec_classic_lolo_gets_riviera_showcase_at_mapleflavoured_cannes.html |title=Quebec classic Léolo gets Riviera showcase at maple-flavoured Cannes |last=Howell |first=Peter |date=30 April 2014 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[The Toronto Star]]}}</ref> The restoration was carried out by the Elephant project and [[Cinémathèque québécoise]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/cinema-quebecois/201404/30/01-4762402-leolo-fera-partie-de-cannes-classics-2014.php |title=Léolo fera partie de Cannes Classics 2014 |date=30 April 2014 |access-date=27 August 2016 |work=[[La Presse (Canadian newspaper)|La Presse]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/non-classe/408483/le-retour-de-leolo-a-cannes |title=Le retour de Léolo à Cannes |last=Tremblay |first=Odile |date=16 May 2014 |access-date=27 August 2016 |work=[[Le Devoir]]}}</ref> and it was the first Canadian film screened for Cannes Classics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/sujet/cannes2014/2014/05/15/001-leolo-festival-de-cannes.shtml |title=Ginette Reno, également porte-bonheur du cinéma québécois à Cannes |date=15 May 2014 |access-date=27 August 2016 |work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|Radio-Canada]]}}</ref>

==Reception== ===Box office=== After opening at [[Place des Arts]] in Montreal on June 4, 1992, the film made $100,000 after its first week.<ref name="Alioff"/> The film had a total of 110,000 admissions in Quebec theatres.<ref name="Lemieux"/> In its first weekend in two New York theatres, it made $31,009, which was considered a successful launch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/leolo-opens-big-in-n-y-dog-bow-wows-l-a-105699/ |title='Leolo' opens big in N.Y., 'Dog' bow wows L.A. |last=Cohn |first=Lawrence |date=6 April 1993 |access-date=26 August 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

According to ''[[Box Office Mojo]]'', the film finished its run grossing $611,703 domestically.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=leolo.htm |title=Leolo |access-date=26 August 2016 |work=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> It was the highest-grossing film in Canada for 1992.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Adilman |first=Sid |date=February 20, 1993 |title=Overseas sales boost Canadian films |page=J3 |work=[[Toronto Star]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/153999537/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825233946/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/153999537/ |archive-date=August 25, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> It was one of the highest-grossing films worldwide for distributor [[Alliance Films]]. It did particularly well in Germany and Spain, while it did not perform well in the U.S.<ref name="Variety2"/>

===Critical response=== ''Léolo'' has an approval rating of 90% on [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 10 reviews, and an average rating of 8.3/10.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leolo | title=Léolo | website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] }}</ref>

Canadian critic [[Brian D. Johnson]], writing for ''[[Maclean's]]'', said the film "elevates [[Cinema of Canada|Canadian cinema]] to new heights of creative ambition and achievement".{{sfn|Melnyk|2004|p=203}} [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film four stars, writing "''Léolo'' is an enchanting, disgusting, romantic, depressing, hilarious, tragic movie, and it is quite original- one of the year's best. I have never seen one like it before".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/leolo-1993 |title=Leolo |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=3 April 1993 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=Rogerebert.com}}</ref> Janet Maslin of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called ''Léolo'' "daring, bracingly original" and initially "whimsical".<ref name="Maslin"/> [[Kenneth Turan]] of ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'' praised it as "extraordinary".<ref name="Turan"/> Peter Brunette of ''The New York Times'' wrote "It's a bizarre, occasionally upsetting film, but its underlying portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man theme couldn't be more classic".<ref name="Brunette">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/28/movies/film-with-leolo-it-is-better-to-feel-than-to-understand.html |title=FILM; With 'Leolo,' It Is Better to Feel Than to Understand |last=Brunette |first=Peter |date=28 March 1993 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> [[David Denby]] of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine panned the film as "the most [[wikt:maladroit|maladroit]] film I've seen in ages".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Denby |first=David |date=5 April 1993 |title=Portrait of the Artist as a Big Bore |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |page=60}}</ref>

In 2005, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named ''Léolo'' one of [[Time's All-TIME 100 Movies]].<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,leolo,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050525010315/http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,leolo,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=May 25, 2005 | magazine=Time | title=All-Time 100 Movies | access-date=2010-05-07 | date=2005-02-12}}</ref> That year, Ebert added it to his [[The Great Movies|Great Movies]] list, writing on "the deep amusement and even love that Lauzon conveys in his material". Ebert also said "The technical brilliance of the film is astonishing".<ref name="Ebert"/> In 2014, Peter Howell of ''[[The Toronto Star]]'', writing on ''Léolo'''s screening in Cannes Classics, called the film "masterful",<ref name="Howell"/> while Bruce Kirkland of ''[[The Toronto Sun]]'' called it "brilliantly deranged" and speculated Lauzon would have enjoyed seeing the film's revival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2014/05/01canadians/-get-set-to-invade-cannes-film-fest |title=Canadians get set to invade Cannes film fest |last=Kirkland |first=Bruce |date=5 May 2014 |access-date=27 August 2016 |work=[[The Toronto Sun]]}}</ref> Also in 2014, Turan included ''Léolo'' in his book, ''Not to Be Missed: Fifty-Four Favorites From a Lifetime of Film'', citing it as an example of one of the films among the 54 with "a more limited following".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-kenneth-turan-on-film-20140601-column.html |title='Not to Be Missed': A critic shares 54 favorite movies |last=Turan |first=Ken |date=31 May 2014 |access-date=27 August 2016 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The next year, the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] placed it fifth in the [[Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/atanarjuat-voted-no-1-canadian-film-of-all-time-1.3047162 |title=Atanarjuat voted No. 1 Canadian film of all time |date=24 April 2015 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[CBC News]]}}</ref> regarded as a "noteworthy" change in the overall Top 10,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/tiff-poll-shows-canadas-all-time-top-ten-films/article24670789/ |title=TIFF poll shows Canada's All-Time Top Ten films |last=Semley |first=John |date=28 May 2015 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref> which had been compiled once per decade since 1984. The Cannes restoration likely led to the resurgence of interest in the film, resulting in the Top 10 addition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tiff.net/canadas-all-time-top-ten |title=Essay |last=Gravestock |first=Steve |authorlink=Steve Gravestock |access-date=24 August 2016 |work=TIFF.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704203521/http://tiff.net/canadas-all-time-top-ten |archive-date=4 July 2016 }}</ref>

In 2001, an industry poll conducted by ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'' named it the 12th best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years.<ref>[[Michael Posner (journalist)|Michael Posner]], "Egoyan tops film poll". ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', November 25, 2001.</ref>

===Accolades=== The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[65th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee.<ref>Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref><ref name="Variety">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1992/film/news/foreign-oscar-entries-submitted-101796/ |title=Foreign Oscar entries submitted |access-date=20 September 2015 |work=Variety|date=3 December 1992 }}</ref> The film was selected for competition for the [[Palme d'Or]] at Cannes, and its loss caused critics to accuse the jury of conservative choices.<ref name="Alioff"/>

At the [[13th Genie Awards]], ''Léolo'' received nine nominations and was perceived as being in an unusually tight competition with [[David Cronenberg]]'s ''[[Naked Lunch (film)|Naked Lunch]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1992/film/news/lunch-leolo-to-battle-for-top-92-genie-honors-101397/ |title='Lunch,' 'Leolo' to battle for top '92 Genie honors |last=Ayscough |first=Suzan |date=14 October 1992 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> ''Naked Lunch'' was considered to have triumphed over ''Leolo'' on awards night.{{sfn|Melnyk|2004|p=203}}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |- ! scope="col"| Award ! scope="col"| Date of ceremony ! scope="col"| Category ! scope="col"| Recipient(s) ! scope="col"| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}} |- ! scope="row" rowspan="9"| [[Genie Awards]] | rowspan="9" | [[13th Genie Awards|22 November 1992]] | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture|Best Motion Picture]] | [[Aimée Danis]] and [[Lyse Lafontaine]] | {{nom}} | rowspan="9" | <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1992/film/news/lunch-eats-up-8-canadian-genies-101507/ |title='Lunch' eats up 8 Canadian Genies |last=Murray |first=Karen |date=22 November 1992 |access-date=26 August 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Achievement in Direction|Best Direction]] | rowspan="2" | [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]] | {{nom}} |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] | {{won}} |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design|Best Art Direction]] | [[François Séguin]] | {{nom}} |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] | [[Guy Dufaux]] | {{nom}} |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design|Best Costume Design]] | [[François Barbeau]] | {{won}} |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Achievement in Editing|Best Editing]] | [[Michel Arcand]] | {{won}} |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Achievement in Overall Sound|Best Sound]] | Yvon Benoît, [[Jo Caron]], Jack Jullian and [[Hans Peter Strobl]] | {{nom}} |- | [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Achievement in Sound Editing|Best Sound Editing]] | Marcel Pothier, Jean-Pierre Lelong, Richard Grégoire, Mathieu Beaudin, Carole Gagnon and Jacques Plante | {{nom}} |- ! scope="row"| [[Toronto International Film Festival]] | rowspan="1" | [[1992 Toronto International Film Festival|10 – 19 September 1992]] | [[Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film|Best Canadian Feature Film]] Special Jury Citation | rowspan="3" |Jean-Claude Lauzon | {{won}} | rowspan="1" | <ref name="CanEncy">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/leolo/ |title=Léolo |access-date=25 August 2016 |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| [[Valladolid International Film Festival]] | October 1992 | Golden Spike | {{won}} | rowspan="1" | <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1992/scene/news/long-day-leolo-top-valladolid-100642/ |title='Long Day,' 'Leolo' top Valladolid |last=Moore |first=Linda |date=3 November 1992 |access-date=24 November 2018 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| [[Vancouver International Film Festival]] | 1992 | Best Canadian Screenplay | {{won}} | rowspan="1" | <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1992/film/markets-festivals/lauzon-cited-for-leolo-100249/ |title=Lauzon cited for 'Leolo' |last=Ayscough |first=Suzan |date=13 October 1992 |access-date=27 August 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> |- |}

==See also== * [[List of submissions to the 65th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]] * [[List of Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]

==References== {{reflist}}

===Bibliography=== * {{cite book |last=Leach|first=Jim |chapter=It takes monsters to do things like that: The films of Jean-Claude Lauzon |title=Great Canadian Film Directors |publisher=The University of Alberta Press|date=2007 |location=Edmonton |isbn=978-0888645289 }} * {{cite book |last=Marshall |first=Bill |title=Quebec National Cinema |url=https://archive.org/details/quebecnationalci00mars |url-access=registration |location=Montreal, Kingston, London and Ithaca |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |date=2001 |isbn=077352116X }} * {{cite book |last=Melnyk |first=George |author-link=George Melnyk |title=Film and the City: The Urban Imaginary in Canadian Cinema |url=https://archive.org/details/FilmAndTheCity |publisher=Athabasca University |location=Edmonton |date=2014 |isbn=978-1927356593 }} * {{cite book |last=Melnyk |first=George |title=One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema |location=Toronto, Buffalo and London |publisher=University of Toronto Press |date=2004 |isbn=0802084443 }} * {{cite book |last=Pike|first=David Lawrence |title=Canadian Cinema Since the 1980s: At the Heart of the World |location=Toronto, Buffalo and London |publisher=University of Toronto Press|date=2012 |isbn=978-1442698321 }} * {{cite book |last=Racine |first=Claude |chapter=Jean-Claude Lauzon |title=The Young, the Restless, and the Dead: Interviews with Canadian Filmmakers |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |date=2008 |volume=1 |isbn=978-1554581139 }} * {{cite book |last=Rist |first=Peter |title=Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada |location=Westport, Connecticut and London |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2001 |isbn=0313299315 }} * {{cite book |last=Toles|first=George |chapter=Drowning for Love: Jean-Claude Lauzon's ''Léolo'' |title=Canada's Best Features: Critical Essays on 15 Canadian Films |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam and New York |date=2002 |isbn=9042015985 }}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0104782|title=Léolo}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leolo}} [[Category:1992 films]] [[Category:1992 comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Canadian coming-of-age comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Canadian fantasy comedy films]] [[Category:Films with unreliable narrators]] [[Category:Films shot in Montreal]] [[Category:Films about dysfunctional families]] [[Category:Films set in Montreal]] [[Category:Films directed by Jean-Claude Lauzon]] [[Category:1992 French-language films]] [[Category:French-language Canadian films]] [[Category:1992 Canadian films]] [[Category:Canadian fantasy drama films]]