Is Xavier Dolan really quitting filmmaking?

14:07Is Xavier Dolan really done with filmmaking?

Celebrated Quebec filmmaker Xavier Dolan recently declared that he's done with making movies.

In a recent interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the lauded director and actor claimed that he's tired of the promotional process, and that art is meaningless when the world is in such a precarious state.

Writer and filmmaker Chandler Levack and Montreal Gazette film columnist T'Cha Dunlevy join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to explain how we got here, and why his comments have struck a deep nerve in the film world.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion on Dolan's influential career, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Last week, it was reported that Xavier Dolan said he was through with making movies. The quote was: "I don't see the point in dedicating oneself to telling stories when everything around us is crumbling. Art is useless, and dedicating oneself to movies is a waste of time." Those are pretty big comments. T'Cha, I'm going to start with you. What is going on in Xavier's career that would prompt such a dramatic comment?

WATCH | Trailer for Dolan's I Killed My Mother:

T'Cha: Well, a lot is going on in his career as usual. He's been very busy for the past 14 years. In 2009 his first film premiered at Cannes, J'ai tué ma mère [or] I Killed My Mother. He was 20 years old. That was 14 years ago. Since then, he's had eight features come out. Six of them have premiered at Cannes. He's won two awards. He's also just a very dramatic guy. His films are very dramatic. He speaks very freely, and he's a very emotional guy…. This isn't the first time we've heard comments like this from him. I think he throws himself so much into his movies and so much into the process, and he's also so sensitive that he takes criticism very harshly.

WATCH | Xavier Dolan accepts an award at Cannes 2016:

Sometimes films that win prizes at Cannes are also films that get very harsh reviews. People have a love-hate relationship with him. When I interviewed him in December, he was saying things very similar to this. He was saying he was getting tired of spending two years on a film, and then in the end only a handful of people go into theatres to see it, or against these harsh critiques. And he doesn't know if he wants to keep doing that. He's tired. What's different this time is that he said that he wanted to stop, that he's made his last film. I think that was a bit of a shock for people.

Elamin: When you were talking about the fact that he made eight films in 14 years, Chandler was in studio here just shaking her head like, "Oh my God." That's a pretty remarkable kind of output in that period of time.

Chandler: Yeah, I'm 36. I've only made one movie. What's wrong with me?

Elamin: Nothing's wrong with you. I Like Movies was a fantastic movie. But this isn't about that. Why did the comments rub you the wrong way?

Chandler: I just think that he's so absurdly talented. No one knows more innately how hard it is to make a film than me. But if you're making movies because you need to have praise and adoration, you're kind of in the wrong business — especially now. And how much more praise and adoration can a person have already experienced?

I just think cinema is like a calling and a vocation, right? It's something that you're kind of compelled to do more than anything. It doesn't make any sense, the process of filmmaking; it's so absurdly hard. I understand his passion and the feeling of maybe the futility of it. I think he's just burnt out. He needs a break. But he also wants people to realize that he still exists.

Elamin: One of the things that caught my attention in his comments was he said something about making a movie that no one ends up seeing. Do you think that is a big worry for a filmmaker — wanting to have the widest possible audience? And, in a sort of cinema environment where you feel like that's not going to happen, is that kind of dispiriting?

Chandler: Well, I think maybe if he's comparing himself to the late Jean-Marc Vallée or Denis Villeneuve, maybe he's like, "Where's my Mattel franchise? How come I can't do a sexy, queer-coded G.I. Joe? I'm ready to go." But I don't think that's what he wants…. From just the perspective of art house cinema, he's one of the most internationally recognized, rewarded and respected auteurs — certainly to have ever come out of this country.

Elamin: Yeah, and he's 34.

Chandler: And he's 34. It's like maybe he just needs to, you know, go to Ojai for a bit?

Elamin: T'Cha, Xavier has since backtracked his comments somewhat. Last week on Instagram, he posted this nine-page post on Instagram. What did he say in that post?

T'Cha: Then he walks back the walking-back.

Chandler: That's very French.

Elamin: I'll tell you this: I hope he doesn't stop making Adele's music videos because he's so far made two of them and they're absolutely incredible. Chandler, it seems like a lot of the frustrations that Xavier is expressing here has to do with the business side of things, in terms of getting your movie in front of people. You recently put out your first movie, I Like Movies. You did that on a limited budget, so you've been going through this kind of process firsthand. What is it like for you as a first-time filmmaker, to hear someone who's already so accomplished say, "You know what, this is just not worth it?"

Chandler: It definitely is devastating. I think it's important to recognize that he's also this incredible queer filmmaker, and a pioneer for queer cinema in Canada and in general. I also think so much of him as a person and his work is so connected that maybe there's just a personal boredom. He's a celebrity, you know? Maybe there's just something about having to embody what you make, and have people assess your life, and have the films that you make be so personally connected with you that is also part of the frustration of not being able to feel free. But it is dangerous. I mean, I made a film about a video store, and I don't even know if my movie will ever come out on DVD.

Elamin: Right. Oh, wow.

Chandler: The whole world is shifting, and … I understand his frustration of this changing distribution landscape.… I think the important context also is that his first English film The Death & Life of John F. Donovan, which had huge celebrities in it, wasn't the breakthrough movie that he thought it was going to be. It was really critically maligned; it didn't do that well in the box office. That was kind of his moment to really transition into making movies in English, and because of that failure, I think everything in the context of his career from then has kind of crumbled since then. I interviewed him for The Globe and Mail when that movie came out at TIFF, and I remember asking him, "You've never had a failure before. Do you think that you're ready for it?" And he was like, "You seem really concerned. I'm not worried about it." But I think all filmmakers, we're so sensitive. We just want to be loved…. And so I think he just can't handle it.

You can listen to the full discussion about Dolan's cinematic legacy from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Stuart Berman.