Réjeanne Padovani
Réjeanne Padovani is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, written and directed by Denys Arcand and released in 1973. It was his second narrative feature film as a director, but the first for which he was also the screenwriter.
An examination of political corruption, the film stars Jean Lajeunesse as Vincent Padovani, a construction contractor with mafia ties who has just completed work on a major autoroute project, and is planning a major dinner party to thank the politicians who awarded him the contract. However, as the dinner approaches his plans are disrupted, both professionally by the launch of a public protest by several families whose homes were expropriated for the highway construction and personally by the return of Réjeanne, his ex-wife who is now married into the family of rival contractor Sam Tannenbaum.
Réjeanne Padovani and Wedding in White were the only two Canadian films screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. The French newspaper Le Monde called Réjeanne Padovani one of the best films screened at the festival.
During Quebec's Charbonneau Commission inquiry into corruption in the awarding of construction contracts in the early 2010s, the film received renewed attention with some media outlets calling it "prophetic".
