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Valérie

Valérie

(Nicole)

Year: 1968
Language: French
Format: 35mm Black & White
Runtime: 97 min
Director: Denis Héroux
Producer: Julian Parnell
Writer: Louis Gauthier, André Link, Denis Héroux
Cinematographer: René Verzier
Editor: Jean Lafleur
Sound: Jean-Pierre Saradin
Music: Michel Paje
Cast: Michel Paje, Henri Norbert, Kim Wilcox, Pierre Paquette, Danielle Ouimet, Yvan Ducharme, Clémence Desrochers, Andrée Flamand, Hugo Gélinas, Gérald Godin, Claude Préfontaine
Production Company: Cinépix Inc.

Valérie (Ouimet), a 20-year-old student, lives in a convent and cannot stand the restrictions imposed on her. She rebels by sneaking out at night. When she gets caught, she phones the leader of a motorcycle gang who takes her to Montreal. There she discovers the hippie culture, becomes a topless dancer and eventually turns to prostitution.

One day in the park, she meets Patrick (Godin), a painter, and his young son François. Patrick and Valérie are attracted to each other and begin an affair. Valérie is afraid Patrick will discover that she is a prostitute, so she opts to leave him instead. After she is beaten up by one of her customers, she decides that she can’t take it any longer. Meanwhile, Patrick has discovered her secret. Just as she is about to leave Montreal, they meet again in the park and are reunited.

With its outspoken sexuality, sentimentality and echoes of Jansenist Catholic morality, Valérie was the first of the "maple syrup porno" films and the prototype for many that followed.

Valérie was a huge box office success (grossing more than $1.5 million, having cost only $99,000 to make) and established Cinépix as a major force in Quebec's commercial film industry. Valérie also launched the careers of John Dunning and Denis Héroux. A novel adapted from the film was published in 1969, written by Yves Thériault.

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