Couleurs du sang – Philippe Baylaucq

Filmmaker
Space maker

The Art of time

2000

Medium length documentary

Through the intimate gaze of the filmmaker, the mirror-image of his grandfather, the viewer is invited to travel through the countries and eras that forged the life and work of artist André Biéler (1896-1989).

The story unfolds at the crossroads of two continents, two media, two languages, two generations, two creators and their shared features. Avoiding nostalgia, never far from emotion, The Art of Time charts the artistic paths of a major painter. In the archives, the works and the writings, the grandson identifies the sources of his grandfather’s humanism. Structured like a historical road-movie, this multifaceted portrait puts Biéler's singular approach into perspective.

We understand that love, family, teaching and especially creativity, all helped to cleanse the deep wounds left by the Great War. Spanned over a long and productive career, the healing of André Biéler the veteran was achieved by building community and celebrating life, high in line, form and color.

Standard Betacam Video
53 minutes

Artistic subject

Videos

View film

Making of

Interviews

Main collaborators

Producers
Nathalie Barton

Research and scriptwriting
Philippe Baylaucq

Cinematography
Philippe Baylaucq
André-Paul Therrien

Sound recording
Paul Castro-Lopez, Louis Leger
Catherine Van Der Donkt

Editing
Dominique Sicotte

Sound design
Benoît Dame
Catherine Van Der Donkt

Sound Mix
Jean-Pierre Bissonnette

Photo credit:

Jacques Baylaucq

The Art of time

2000

Writer director

Produced by InformAction in collaboration with Passerelle Production.

Prizes, nominations and selections

1 nomination, Gemini Awards 2002.

3 nominations, Gémeaux Awards,2002.

Official Selection, FIFA 2001 (Montréal)

Official selection, FIPA 2001 (Biarritz, France).

Il réussit la tâche très difficile de documenter un artiste en ce qui concerne le « pourquoi » et le « comment » de ce qu’il fait. Il raconte une saga personnelle remarquable d’une manière qui laisse le spectateur convaincu d’avoir vécu la vie du héros avec lui. Le caractère canadien de l’histoire est omniprésent sans jamais devenir chauvin. Le lien entre l’artiste-cinéaste et l’artiste-peintre est mis en avant sans jamais compromettre le besoin du spectateur de faire confiance au premier pour raconter l’histoire du second avec franchise et intégrité. Et tout cela avec esprit, sagesse, rythme et discernement.

Donald MacSween, janvier 2002

The extremely meticulous imagery is a series of transitions between the painted work, the film record of the past, recent testimonies and the filmmaker's own journey, fused and interlinked in a gaze that embraces continents and eras.... With The Art of Time, he penetrates more intimately into the world of art, staging himself as a pilgrim with his staff, in this very moving documentary, to seek the sources of inspiration beyond beings and their sources of influence, in an impulse, a vision, a work and a dream. Odile Tremblay, Le Devoir, Montreal, April 13, 2001

Odile Tremblay, Le Devoir, Montréal, 13 avril, 2001

It's a rather successful exercise, offering an intimate and moving perspective, far from the hagiographic homage we might have expected... Specializing in films about art, Philippe Baylaucq is an excellent documentary filmmaker, an artist worthy of his grandfather.

Jérôme Delgado La Presse , April 14, 2001

The magnificent cinematography, the warm tone of the narrative, Biéler's striking paintings, imbued with humanity, make you want to do just one thing: find out more by visiting the Musée du Québec to admire the collection of works by André Biéler.

Louise Blanchard, Le Journal de Montréal, April 12, 2001