Director Xavier Dolan (I Killed My Mother, VIFF 09), delivers a striking love story set in 1990’s Montreal. A man, Laurence (Melvil Poupaud), has just told his girlfriend, Fred (Suzanne Clément), that he wants to become a woman. What follows is a tumultuous, decade-long odyssey during which the couple fights passionately to salvage their relationship. In spite of the odds and in spite of each other, they confront the prejudices of their friends, ignore the council of their families, and brave the phobias of the society they offend.

At first, Fred believes they can continue being a couple as they always have. But as the reality of the situation emerges, their bond is tested in ways they never believed possible. A teacher, Laurence encounters problems at work, his family doesn’t readily accept his transition, and Fred questions whether he really is the same person she’s always loved. Throughout, Poupaud and Clément’s electric performances bring an energy to the film that is irresistible to watch.

As epic visually as it is in scope, from its first frame Laurence Anyways is rendered with Dolan’s signature panache (he is also responsible for the film’s impressive period wardrobe and its pulsating soundtrack). Certainly his most ambitious film to date, it is a monumental tale about relationships and identity—a story of impossible love that once experienced, can never be fully relinquished.