Many armed conflicts in the world couldn’t occur without the participation of impressionable young men with a desire for adventure and belonging to something larger than themselves. The protagonist of Hochelaga, a 2000 Canadian crime drama written and directed by Michel Jetté, belongs to this category. Marc (played by Dominic Darceuil) is a 21-year-old man from Hochelaga, one of Montreal’s neighbourhoods. Marc’s life has so far revolved around petty robberies and his friends, who don’t think beyond getting high on drugs. After one of these robberies, it turns out that the target was in territory controlled by the Dark Souls, an outlaw motorcycle gang known for imposing severe punishments on anyone who questions their authority. Gang members catch Marc, but Hulk (played by Ronald Houle), one of the bikers, is so impressed with the youth’s courage that he proposes that Marc apply for Dark Souls membership. Marc begins to run errands for the gang and soon becomes deeply impressed with their hierarchy, discipline, and comradeship. The errands, however, become increasingly dangerous because the Dark Souls are embroiled in a decade-old war with the rival gang, the Devil’s Soldiers, leading Marc to become involved in bombings and assassinations. Marc’s mother (played by Michèle Péloquin), a former biker girl, appears to be the only voice of reason, trying to persuade her son to abandon his increasingly dangerous way of life.
Made with a relatively low budget, Hochelaga drew inspiration from current events in Quebec—the brutal gang war between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine that lasted for years and claimed more lives than some of the post-Yugoslav conflicts. Despite not having much in the way of production values and some plot events being slightly confusing, Jetté’s film was surprisingly good. The most important factor in that success was the serious tone in the script and great attention to the details of biker lifestyle. Jetté generally avoided clichés and was fortunate to have a capable cast at his disposal. Dominic Darceuil was quite convincing as a naive young man seduced into gang life. The uncompromisingly bleak ending also added to the sense of realism. Hochelaga received praise from critics and even achieved some commercial success in Quebec, although, as a French-language film, it was less successful in international markets.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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