X
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Oscilloscope
  • 1 h 17 m
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Oscilloscope
  • 1 h 17 m
Polytechnique

Summary Based on the testimonies of the survivors that experienced the dramatic event at the Polytechnic School of Montreal on December 6th 1989, the film tells the story of two students whose lives are rocked when a dying young man breaks into the school with the intention of taking as many women as he can into death with him. [Remstar Distribu...

Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Written By: Jacques Davidts, Eric Leca, Denis Villeneuve

  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Oscilloscope
  • 1 h 17 m
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Oscilloscope
  • 1 h 17 m

Polytechnique

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 6 Critic Reviews
63
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 30 User Ratings
6.5
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Summary Based on the testimonies of the survivors that experienced the dramatic event at the Polytechnic School of Montreal on December 6th 1989, the film tells the story of two students whose lives are rocked when a dying young man breaks into the school with the intention of taking as many women as he can into death with him. [Remstar Distribu...

Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Written By: Jacques Davidts, Eric Leca, Denis Villeneuve

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 6 Critic Reviews
63
33% Positive
2 Reviews
67% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 6 Critic Reviews
63
33% Positive
2 Reviews
67% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
88
Jun 28, 2011
Though it's as schematic in construction as Incendies, the film doesn't grind along to a ponderous plot; it's unnerving abstraction of its subject matter more daringly relays Villeneuve's view of the human cost of gender warfare.
By Ed Gonzalez FULL REVIEW
80
Jun 28, 2011
Though the characters are fictional, Polytechnique hews close to the facts regarding the 1989 incident, down to its misogynistic Marc Lépine avatar (Gaudette) separating "feminist" coeds in a classroom.
By David Fear FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 30 User Ratings
6.5
73% Positive
22 Ratings
7% Mixed
2 Ratings
20% Negative
6 Ratings

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 30 User Ratings
6.5
73% Positive
22 Ratings
7% Mixed
2 Ratings
20% Negative
6 Ratings

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
8
ChanekeCholo
Dec 13, 2021
Due to Denis Villeneuve, we can be another student in the Polytechnique Montreal on December 6th, 1989. The way that he shows us this sad event emotionally impacts the viewer. This film is short, honest, fair and necessary.
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8
BladeLover2049
Sep 7, 2018
In an icy atmosphere hot bullets are coming, and that's what the film talks about: the peace interfered with by violence and death and desolation are shown in the last plane. A beautiful movie.
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60
Jun 28, 2011
Polytechnique smartly exposes the spectrum of misogyny without overplaying the connection between the two incidents. Which makes the concluding flash-forward scene all the more disappointing: Designed to give hope, it comes off as an emotional sop instead.
By Melissa Anderson FULL REVIEW
60
Jun 28, 2011
It is neither floridly melodramatic nor showily minimalist. The virtue - and also the limitation - of this movie is that it confronts senselessness and insists on remaining calm and sane.
By A.O. Scott FULL REVIEW
50
Jun 28, 2011
A weaker "Elephant," Quebecois director Denis Villeneuve's school-shooting drama Polytechnique nevertheless distinguishes itself by endeavoring to comprehend the 25-year-old man who murdered more than a dozen female students at Montreal's Polytechnique School in 1989.
By Rob Nelson FULL REVIEW
50
Jun 28, 2011
As much a memorial as it is a docudrama and as such it will interest educators and students, and make for sober television. It's a pity, though, that more of an attempt wasn't made to understand the killer and explain such things as why no one apparently thought to phone for help or hit the fire alarm.
By Ray Bennett FULL REVIEW
See All 6 Critic Reviews
7
JLuis_001
Aug 4, 2021
Certainly his simplest film, but Denis Villeneuve demonstrated great skill in handling such a difficult subject. I don't see Polytechnique as a film that tries to tackle a depth that it just doesn't explore. After all, it's just the recreation of an incredibly violent and misogynistic act. It's a confrontation. Abstract no doubt about it, but still a great cinematic exercise.
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4
o_rety
Nov 28, 2019
Boooooring. As only an art film can be. No plot to speak of. Only morose and brooding takes and the feminist agenda underlying everything.
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Details

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Production Company Remstar Media Partners, Remstar Productions, Don Carmody Productions, Téléfilm Canada, Société de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles (SODEC), Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC), Radio Canada Télévision, Super Ecran
Release Date Jun 29, 2011
Duration 1 h 17 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
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Awards

Genie Awards
• 9 Wins & 11 Nominations
Jutra Awards
• 5 Wins & 7 Nominations
Vancouver Film Critics Circle
• 3 Nominations

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