LEWISTON — The Dolard and Priscilla Gendron Franco Center will show the Quebecois drama film “Louis Cyr: The Strongest Man in the World” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, and at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 17.
The showing is part of its Francophonie Week celebration events. The movie is subtitled in English and will be shown in the Performance Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
The biopic about Louis Cyr, a French-Canadian laborer working in a textile factory in the late 19th century, was the top grossing film in Québec in 2013. The film garnered several technical nominations at the second Canadian Screen Awards, including nods for Best Art Direction or Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.
Set in the New England mill town of Lowell, Mass., the film takes viewers into the life of Cyr, a French-Canadian immigrant, who is convinced by an Irish promoter to leave his family in order to demonstrate his immense physical strength at fairs across the country. His girlfriend, Mélina Comtois, also comes along on the trip that lasts six months and ends when the promoter takes off with all the money.
Rolling up his sleeves, Cyr continues to travel as a strong man with Comtois, whom he has married, and ends up in Montreal. There, he meets Horace Barré, a strong man who becomes his most faithful ally, and Gustave Lambert, an agent who helps to revive his career on the Montreal scene. Cyr becomes an overnight sensation. Encouraged by his success, he only has one goal: to win the title of the strongest man in the world.
Donations will be accepted. FMI: 207-783-1585, www.francocenter.org.
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Franco Center is wheelchair accessible.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
