"They say he is my father, but I know I am not his son. Because this man is crazy, and I am not. Because I dream, I am not."

Young Leo Lauzon (Maxime Collin) lives in his dreams. Or, at least, it is his dreams that allow him to survive in a family where everyone around him suffers from varying degrees of insanity. One of Leo's dream scenarios is his very conception, which involves an Italian man masturbating onto a carton of tomatoes, which then made their way to Montreal, where his mother fell onto them and was subsequently impregnated. That is why Leo insists that his actual name is Leolo Lauzone.

"My grandfather, who was not a mean man, nevertheless, tried to kill me once."

At any given time Leolo's father, grandfather, and one or more of his older siblings (two sisters and a brother) are in the loony bin, sometimes every single one of them at once. There seems to be a revolving door policy, when the pressures of the world become too much for them, they just sign themselves in for awhile. Leolo blames his grandfathers genetics for the families headcase curse. But, that isn't why Leolo tries to kill him with an elaborate trap that would make Wile E. Coyote proud. Leolo tries to kill his grandfather because his grandfather has a dirty old man deal (lets just say it involves bathing and clipping toenails) with the girl Leolo lusts over, their Italian neighbor Bianca.

"My father was a man like many others, a dog chewing on his bitch of a life."

The film is narrated by a man Leolo calls, The World Tamer, a resident in Leolo's neighborhood. Leolo imagines that The World Tamer is the reincarnation of Don Quixote, but he is in fact, just a man who collects photos and letters he finds in the trash, including Leolo's diary, which Leolo writes and then discards. So, the film does have a very diary feel, a collection of moments, that lead to the final and somewhat shocking sad chapter. But, along the way, it is quite a bit of fun, from Leolo's first sexual experimentation with a piece of liver, to his skinny, insecure brother bulking up into a musclebound but still insecure beefcake, to his dreams of the Italian countryside where Bianca waits for him.

The initial story synopsis (a child growing up in a crazy family who fights but slowly succumbs to his family curse) may sound like a downer, however in tone the film is far more whimsical with shades of melancholy and black humor. It really captures that calamitous time of adolescence when one still has the wonder and imagination of a child yet feels those first strains of mature instinct and sexual desire. The film engages in Leolo's point of view, that is to say the fantastical, so reality and the dream intermingle. For instance, that incident when his grandfather tries to kill him: it involves Leolo being drowned in a kiddie pool. However, rather than recall it as horrific, Leolo looks upon it fondly because while his head was submerged he imagined he was diving for sunken treasure.

Director/writer Jean-Claude Lauzon is a true lost talent. He only made two films, Leolo and his first feature Night Zoo. Both showed a director of true vision, another voice with a taste for the magical like Fellini or Emir Kusturica. Unfortunately, in 1997, Lauzon's life was cut short while on a fishing trip when Lauzon crashed the small plane he was flying. But, the two works we are left with show his gift with cinematic language, strong storytelling and expressive visuals, the latter accounting for his success as a director of commercials. Like Leolo, Lauzon grew up in a Montreal ghetto and he was a man who made the best out of his dreams. While Leolo put his down on paper only to throw them away, Lauzon wonderfully realized his on celluloid. It is nice to see the film hasn't faded away. After all these years, Leolo still holds up and remains very touching.

The DVD: Image

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Very decent presentation. Overall the colors, sharpness, and contrast are very strong, detailed, and vibrant. The only real downfall, which is minor, is that the print has some wear and tear here and there where certain scenes/shots exhibit some dirt and graininess. Technically it appears pretty solid, with no glaring compression artefacts like line shimmer or edge enhancement.

Sound:DTS, 5.1, or 2.0 Dolby Surround, French language with optional English subtitles. Solid sound with clear dialogue and nice atmospherics. The soundtrack is a real gem, utilizing everything from Tom Waits "Temptation" and "Cold, Cold Ground", to The Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want", to- no kidding- Tibetan monk chants. Trust me, it works.

Extras: Trailer.

Conclusion: This is a real classic, a damn near perfect movie. I cannot recommend it enough. It is a shame there is not more beef on the DVD presentation because the film deserves more than a barebones release; however, this is one that holds up on its own, extras or not, it is well worth adding to your DVD library.