Pierre Vallieres1972

A film about a Quebec revolutionary who spent three years in jail without trial. The film was made in April, 1972, when Pierre was working with workers, raising consciousness, in Mount Laurier, Quebec. He was then writing a book about Quebec, and he has written the book White Niggers of America about French Canadians. "PIERRE VALLIERES is one of the most effective political films I've seen. I was helped, when looking at the film, by Joyce's concentration on the words, on the voice. She eliminated all visual distraction, including the speaker's face. It's the voice, the tone of the voice, and the meaning of what is said that comes through. The sincerity and truth of the voice comes through. Ms. Wieland displays in this film the maximum respect for what's being said in it. The purity of her approach, her formal choice, only increases the sharpness of the truth presented in the film. "I look at this film also as a critique of most of the so-called political documentaries. ... Joyce Wieland concentrates on the speaker's voice, she presents Pierre Valliers' voice in close-up, so that nothing is hidden. And the truth of the voice, the sound of the voice, the nuances of the voice, its vibrations, its colors merge so totally with what is being said that no other images are needed to make the point." – Jonas Mekas, The Village Voice Note: In French with English subtitles.