It’s a good surprise that Undergroundby Quebec director Sophie Dupuis. We follow a young man camped by Joakim Robillard, a talented beginner, in search of his friends lost in a gold mine after an explosion. This courageous act is a way for him to redeem himself after nearly killing his best friend (Théodore Pellerin, seen in Watch dog, the director’s first film) in a car accident.
Sophie Dupuis grew up in a mining region. His whole family worked in the mines. It was after going down to a gallery with her father when she was 19 that she understood that she had to make a film on the subject to celebrate the courage of miners. She took fifteen years to realize her project in order to discover this environment which “generates a lot of mystery”, she explains in the press kit.
In a real mine
The director chose to shoot in a veritable gold mine in Abitibi in the midst of real miners who agreed to welcome the team under the promise of showing their working conditions. The result is impressive because we feel all the more the smallness of the place and the difficulty of organizing a rescue in this hostile environment. The spectator can only feel close to the hero ready to sacrifice himself for his comrades. Professional, friendly and family relationships – all know each other and sometimes have a painful past in common – intertwine to make the experience even more oppressive. There is a lot of humanity and solidarity in this Underground.