The third feature from the Quebecois director of ‘Genesis’ and ‘The Demons’ premiered in Berlin’s Generation 14plus section, where it received the international jury prize.

It’s been almost a decade now that French-Canadian director Philippe Lesage’s intense, intricate dramas have been premiering in top festivals and receiving rave reviews from critics. And yet he unfortunately remains more or less unknown to general arthouse audiences.

He’s a gifted and original filmmaker who should be getting more attention — which is why the programming of his accomplished third feature, Who by Fire (Comme le feu), in Berlin’s Generation 14Plus sidebar, instead of in the festival’s uneven main competition, feels like a slap in the face. The fact that the movie wound up winning an international jury prize offers some consolation, but the director deserves better.

Like Lesage’s previous movies, this one is a coming-of-age story too, although it’s about two generations: the adults who’ve compromised their dreams in order to pay the bills; and the children whose dreams risk being compromised before they even begin. Nothing is ever resolved by the end of its expansive 160 minutes, which pass by quickly enough, and none of the characters walks away unscathed. At best, their egos are put in check and they achieve some sense of self-awareness.  

The story begins when seasoned screenwriter, Albert (Paul Ahmrani), arrives at the rustic lodge of Blake (Arieh Worthalter), an acclaimed director who once won an Oscar and is now living in self-imposed exile. His house isn’t an easy place to get to, requiring a long and winding drive — set to the strumming tonal compositions of Cédric Dind-Lavoie — and then a flight over vast woodlands, with Blake himself piloting the aircraft. (Although a time period isn’t specified, the action seems to be set in the 1990s, before anyone had cell phones or social media accounts.)

Jeff is accompanied by his daughter, Aliocha (Aurelia Arandi-Longpré), and son, Max (Antoine Marchand-Gagnon), as well as by Max’s best friend, the budding filmmaker, Jeff (Noah Parker). They’re joined a day later by the actress Hélène (Irène Jacob) and her partner Eddy (Laurent Lucas), who’ve come all the way from Paris to spend a pleasant vacation with their friends in the Canadian wilderness. Wishful thinking.

Things aren’t going much better for the teenagers, with Jeff falling for the smart and sassy Aliocha, who doesn’t seem interested in him. But the boy won’t take no for an answer, coming on too strong and then shockingly slapping Aliocha in the face when she pushes him away, prompting him to flee to the woods and disappear for an entire night.

As the narrative progresses, Who by Fire weaves a pair of parallel, seemingly autobiographical stories, or rather the same story told from different points in one’s life. The first concerns filmmakers who once did their best work together and are now past their prime, living with a fair amount of bitterness and regret. (We learn that Blake switched from making features to documentaries, which is the opposite of what Lesage himself has done.) The other one is about aspiring young artists — like her father, Aliocha wants to write, while Jeff wants to become a famous director like Blake — confronted over the holiday with the hypocrisy of adults and the pangs of adolescent love.

Moving between the house and surrounding forest, which seems to stretch on infinitely, the drama crescendos several times as the characters keep attacking one another, although there are also moments of respite when they just sit around and hang out, getting drunk and wild late into the night. In one of the film’s highlights, someone throws on a record of The B-52’s “Rock Lobster” — shoutout to Albert’s corny kids’ show — and the entire cast breaks out into an exhilarating lip-sync dance led by Blake’s otherwise shy assistant, Millie (Sophie Desmarais, Sarah Prefers to Run).