THE NOISE OF ENGINES – A Nordic Fable

Film Review by Sergio Martinez

A pleasant surprise is this film by Canadian director Philippe Grégoire, with a story set in the grey skies of Quebec and Iceland. One could well refer to it as a "Nordic fable." In it, the monotony of the weather, the roar of the engines in a semi-abandoned drag racing circuit, the loneliness of the characters, sex as a background ingredient, and the sudden and mysterious appearance of a young woman arriving from Iceland converge.

Alexandre (Robert Naylor) is a weapons instructor for Canadian customs agents. Training takes place in a remote location, and Alexandre –whom we find ready to have sex with one of the agents in training– is soon suspended, precisely because of his sexual addiction. "You've had sex with practically all the agents," the director of the centre (Alexandrine Agostini) points out to him when she calls him into her office.

Temporarily suspended from his job, Alexandre returns home to his mother, who is not particularly happy to see her son. She presumes that he must be involved in a problem, which he prefers not to talk to her about.

Alexandre now faces a new problem when the police come to visit him at the circuit. They explain that he is suspected of being the author of some drawings with erotic scenes that have been posted in the village church, no less.

In the midst of all this, the young Aðalbjörg (Tanja Björk) makes her appearance, first showing her interest in drag racing, also in the village even though Alexandre tells her that there is nothing interesting to see there. However, the young woman gradually turns into a sort of oracle who forewarns Alexandre of some of her steps.

Loneliness amid the grey days in a Nordic place

The Noise of Engines does not have a linear story. Perhaps it does not have a straightforward narrative, but rather spaces of exchange for the characters, without a very concrete plot. In this sense, you can see an influence of what Swedish d
irector Roy Andersson does with his style of absurdist comedy. There is something of that in this film's plot, which appropriately takes place amid a grey atmosphere like that of About Endlessness or A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, both excellent works by Andersson.

This film is currently shown in its original French version and English subtitled version.

Running time: 79 min.