The Castle (2020 film)

The Castle
FrenchLe Château
Directed byDenys Desjardins
Written byDenys Desjardins
Produced byDenys Desjardins
StarringDenys Desjardins
Maryse Desjardins
Madeleine Ducharme
CinematographyDenys Desjardins
Nicolas Canniccioni
Hong An Nguyen
Edited byDenys Desjardins
Annie Jean
Music bySimon Bellefleur
Production
company
Films du Centaure
Distributed byFilms du Centaure
Funfilm Distribution
Release date
  • March 4, 2020 (2020-03-04) (RVQC)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

The Castle (French: Le Château) is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Denys Desjardins and released in 2020.[1] It profiles his mother Madeleine Ducharme, as she and her family confront the prospect of her having to move out of her independent living seniors' residence and into a managed CHSLD long-term care facility due to her advancing Alzheimer's disease.[2]

The film premiered in March 2020 at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma,[3] before its commercial distribution on Vidéotron's Illico platform in May.[4]

Ducharme died of COVID-19 between the time of the theatrical screening and the streaming premiere.[3] In 2022 Desjardins released I Lost My Mom (J'ai placé ma mère), a sequel film which centred more on her final months in long-term care and her death.[5]

  1. ^ Marc-André Lussier, "Le Château : vie et mort d’une châtelaine". La Presse, May 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Caroline Montpetit, "«Le Château»: la vieillesse en face". Le Devoir, May 1, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Yves Bergeras, "Le château de Denys Desjardins: l’envers du décor des résidences pour aînés". Le Droit, May 9, 2020.
  4. ^ Gabriel Beauchemin, "Nouveau documentaire sur Illico: le parcours de sa mère dans une résidence". TVA Nouvelles, May 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Allegra Moyle, "J’ai placé ma mère Review: Love as Lifeblood". Point of View, November 24, 2022.