We are not xenophobes!

Next time you hear someone call Quebecers xenophobes, one word to say: Ru.

• Read also: “Ru” is approaching $2 million at the box office

Such as the title of Charles Olivier Michaud's film, adapted from Kim Thuy's novel, which grossed $1.75 million at the Quebec box office.

This story of solidarity between “indigenous people” and “immigrants” should shut the mouths of many annoying people who want us to believe that we are fundamentally intolerant.

Quebec is open

that Ru It will soon accumulate two million at the box office which should please us. The people of Quebec have embraced this film, they have embraced the book, they have embraced Kim Thuy, they have embraced it with open arms. Boat refugees Vietnamese in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ru It shows us in a positive light. It's a change from movies (or shows or editorials) that cast a disdainful eye on the average Quebecois citizen and their so-called “retreat into oneself.”

I loved the scene where the neighbors come to bring spaghetti sauce and shepherd's pie for Kim Thuy's just arrived family. These dishes sit in the refrigerator along with dozens of other dishes of shepherd's pie and spaghetti sauce.

Another scene that made me smile. When the Quebec family sponsoring the Vietnamese family settles them into their new apartment, the father tells them: “The first three months' rent has already been paid.” Yes, in the 1980s, we didn't have any housing shortages!

duty “About fifty elementary school students, a third of them newcomers to the French class, had the opportunity to see the film,” he told us in December. Ru At the cinema with Kim Thuy and Charles Olivier Michaud.

“Your film has allowed these children from other places to see themselves on screen and discover Quebec. It is as if we are saying to them: ‘You are at home here,’” one of the teachers told the creators.

Successful integration

Radio-Canada recently presented the documentary At a cinema near you It was hosted by Karine Vanasse, which was intended to “replace” the defunct Gala Québec Cinéma.

In this documentary that you can watch for free ici.tou.tvKim Thuy's real family (his father, mother, and two brothers) watches over him. Ru for the first time.

After watching the film that tells the story of his life, Kim Thuy's father testified, crying: “Thank you for opening your arms to us.”

All the good will and openness that Quebeckers have toward “the other” is present in this scene from the documentary, where we see Karine Vanasse and Kim Thuy shed tears together while reflecting on the journey they have taken.

It was Karen Vanasse, years ago, who gave a notebook to Kim Thuy (then the restaurant owner) so she could write a book. She made notes there, which became the book Ru. Years later, Karen Vanasse didn't just play her Ru (She plays the Quebecois mother who raised the Kim family), but in addition to that, she's hosting a screening at the Quebecois cinema… where she's presenting the movie. We can say that the circle is complete!