Demons, wonders, and 100 films worth watching at the Cinémathèque québécoise this summer

“We think these genres work very well for a summer cycle: It’s vacation time, and as a cinephile, you want to be entertained! Plus children don’t have school, they don’t have homework, so they can go to the movies even in the middle of the week.”

A lineup of discovery

Fantasy, often reduced to children’s fare or pure escapism, gets a deeper treatment here. Yes, there’s Gremlins, The Lord of the Rings trilogy (a rare theatrical run before 2027), and The Princess Bride. But there’s also Yeelen by Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cissé, Jiří Barta’s haunting The Pied Piper, and Cocteau’s original La Belle et la Bête. The program works like a time machine for the viewer and for film history itself.

“These cycles are made to be entertaining, but we are still a Cinémathèque with historical and educational mandates,” Jean says. “To explore a specific genre gives us the opportunity to propose a reading of the history of film from a certain point of view. It puts the films in a strong perspective.” 

“And it is also fascinating to see how different cultures deal with the notion of the supernatural. How Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cisse used this notion in Yeelen, or how Hayao Miyazaki deals with it in Spirited Away.”

Each fantasy film also reveals something about the eras they come from, and offer fictitious answers to real problems, Jean explains.

“Every civilization has its tales to explain the creation of the world. Western civilization has the Bible, an incredible reservoir of myths, which in turn connects to stories like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. John Boorman’s Excalibur is a good example of that, where finding the Holy Grail is supposed to solve the problems of the kingdom and redeem Arthur.” 

“Ridley Scott’s Legend deals basically with the same conflict as Star Wars: it’s darkness versus light. It’s a very old source of anxiety for mankind: what if the sun wouldn’t come back after the night? Then there’s Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête, which proposes an answer to the following question: What is true beauty? What does beauty mean? It’s a question that continues to resonate today.”

It's not what you’re watching, it’s how you watch it

That ambiguity—that tension between wonder and unease—is what gives Demons and Wonders its edge. And while the fantasy might be timeless, the formats are deeply grounded in tradition. Many of the films come from the Cinémathèque’s archives, including 35mm prints of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Delicatessen.

It's not what you’re watching, it’s how you watch it: “Our collection is the base of our programming activities,” Jean explains. “It gives us the possibility to show films in 35mm, which is a totally different experience that young people particularly appreciate. We all know that it is great to watch a restored version of Barry Lyndon, but it is better if you can watch a mint 35mm print of the film.”

“For some films, however, we are lucky enough to have great prints in our vaults. For some other films, there is not yet a restoration available, but we still have a correct print.”

It’s part of what makes the Cinémathèque so singular. This institution is also a place of preservation and a screening space where you can watch films you wouldn’t see anywhere else in the city.

It’s a museum of moving images that keeps the reels turning, and one of the best museums in Montreal because of that.

Play it again, Sam

The Cinémathèque itself is designed to draw you in, even before the lights dim: Its café-bar spills out onto one of the most charming terrasses in the Quartier Latin, serving natural wines, microbrews, and noshes.

That accessibility runs through the entire operation. “Our programs are among the cheapest entertainment in town,” Jean says. “For $140, you have all access for a full year. If you are a student, it’s $109. That’s almost 600 screenings.” 

And each summer season of programming gives the Cinémathèque québécoise the opportunity to reach a new public and be part of their community. 

“A cinémathèque is not a chapel reserved to a small sect of cinephiles,” Jean says. “It’s a welcoming place for everybody. It is true that we are also showing more experimental films and that you will not appreciate everything equally. But the truth is that there are films that will suit you, all year long.”

The Montreal connections

Demons and Wonders isn’t just global—it’s local, too. The cycle kicked off with a shorts program featuring Québec filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve, Elza Kephart, and Francis Leclerc, and includes homegrown titles like Opération beurre de pinottes, Le Marais, Henri Henri, and L’Arracheuse de temps. Fantasy is both imported and made right here.

If you haven’t been to the Cinémathèque yet, now’s the time. 

Here are recommendations from Marcel Jean:

• Big Fish (2003, dir. Tim Burton) — “There is something for everyone in this film,” Jean says. “And it’s an ode to the power of the storyteller, which is the essence of the creation of a myth.”
• Hugo (2011, dir. Martin Scorsese) — A boy discovers the forgotten legacy of Georges Méliès in this sweeping tribute to early cinema—shown here in 3D. “It deals with the beginning of film history… and the film will be screened in 3D, a process which was very popular 10 years ago, but almost disappeared from theaters these days.”
• The Pied Piper (1986, dir. Jiří Barta) — A stop-motion fever dream inspired by the Brothers Grimm, made with surreal imagery and dark political undertones. “I saw The Pied Piper in Cannes, when I was a young film critic… I was so impressed by the technical skills and the audacity of the project.”

And if August isn’t enough (or if you’ve already booked up your summer), the cycle stretches into September with a follow-up tribute to fantasy’s most gleeful surrealist: Fantastiquement, Terry Gilliam, featuring Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, 12 Monkeys, and more.