MONTRÉAL GIRLS Trailer (2023) Jasmina Parent, Romance Movie

MONTRÉAL GIRLS Trailer (2023) Jasmina Parent, Romance Movie

MONTRÉAL GIRLS Trailer (2023) Jasmina Parent, Drama, Romance Movie
© 2023 - Level33 Entertainment
Written and directed by Patricia Chica, co-written by Kamal John Iskander, an aspiring young Middle-Eastern poet moves to Montreal for medical school and is forever changed by the city and the young women who reveal him to his destiny. Starring: Hakim Brahimi, Jasmina Parent, Sana Asad, Jade Hassouné, Manuel Tadros, Nahéma Ricci, Martin Dubreuil and Guillaume Rodrigue.

There are some films that are very upfront about what tone and style they’re going for and Montréal Girls fits that category. Whether that’s a good or bad thing will depend on how you feel about romance films because it’s leaning hard on that classic 2000’s style romantic feel. In the sense that it has an old-fashioned edge, the story’s aiming at something more modern but the tone is fairly stuck in the past. The same goes for the visual, it has moments of reaching for something more energised or sharper but falls back into sentimentality.

It’s the main issue that Montréal Girls faces, traversing in that sappy style of romance, one that never truly feels real. The dialogue is formulated and tries to bring through the poetic side of its leading man Ramy (Hakim Brahimi) a bit too much. That choice restricts it from being able to build an everyday or grounded quality, its head is firmly in the clouds. Interestingly it does also operate within the classic double standard of the lead being able to fool around and ignore women but can’t accept it when a woman does the same to him. It’s another note that feels old-fashioned but the other element that’s holding it back is its hesitance to explore the deeper themes at work.

There are religious and cultural aspects, as well as the whole topic of self-discovery against traditional expectation at work within the story but they don’t get the limelight. It feels as though Montréal Girls simply lacks focus, the intention is there but everything is being clouded with sentimentality. Similar could be said of the performances, they match the dialogue’s sense of heightened romance and it can lead to them feeling wooden or lacking a relatable edge. Sadly that goes especially for Hakim Brahimi, who always feels like he’s trying too hard, unable to ease into this character.

Montréal Girls attempts to create a modern romance but it has one foot stuck in the past. Leaning so far into the poetic and loving side that it forgets to stay grounded. There was the potential to bring through a bigger dramatic side to provide some weight to the story but it unfortunately goes unfulfilled. It’s a tricky thing to create a modern romance and sadly, this one couldn’t quite hit the right note.