La moitié gauche du frigo takes a humorous and critical look at the consequences of the world economy for ordinary people. The realistic camerawork on this fake-documentary is occasionally reminiscent of genuine reality TV and is also a subtle reference to the tradition of direct cinema, that partially emerged in Canada.Christophe (30), an unemployed technician, shares a house with his best friend Stéphane, a socially committed theatre-maker. Their friendship is put to the test when Christophe agrees to be the subject of a documentary by Stéphane. Armed with a digital videocamera, Stéphane follows Christophe on every step of his exhausting quest for work. Job interviews, career workshops, discussions at the job centre, they all pass the lens of Stéphane's camera. When Christophe still hasn't found a job months later, he becomes disillusioned and depressed. However Stéphane becomes increasingly enthusiastic and even finds a financier for his project that, ironically enough, has become a full-time job for him. A whole filmcrew is hired that also records every moment of Christophe's private life. The politically committed Stéphane starts taking an active role in the job interviews, as a result of which the presence of the filmcrew actually starts to prevent Christophe finding a job.
- Director
- Philippe Falardeau
- Premiere
- International premiere
- Country of production
- Canada
- Year
- 2000
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2001
- Length
- 90'
- Medium
- 35mm
- Language
- French
- Producer
- Quatre Par Quatre Films
- Sales
- Film Tonic International Inc., Joanne Senecal
- Screenplay
- Philippe Falardeau
- Production Design
- André-Line Beauparlant