Ultimatum (1973 film)

Ultimatum is a Canadian drama film, written and directed by Jean Pierre Lefebvre and released in 1973.^[1] The film stars Jean-René Ouellet and Francine Morand as Arthur and Charlotte, a couple whose relationship is affected by the political climate around the October Crisis of 1970.^[2]

Ultimatum
Directed by	Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Written by	Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Produced by	Marguerite Duparc
Starring	Jean-René Ouellet Francine Morand
Cinematography	Jacques Leduc
Edited by	Marguerite Duparc
Music by	Walter Boudreau
Production company	Les films JP Lefebvre
Distributed by	Disci
Release date	November 16, 1973 (1973-11-16)
Running time	127 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	French

The cast also includes Lee J. Cobb and Franco Gasparri.

According to Lefebvre, the film "tries to personalise a political experience, to interiorise a vision of an event which was completely new for Quebec, a country, which had never known an army of occupation, etc. For me the only way to politicise people is to personalise political issues".^[2] The film's ultimate theme is that one is a member of their society regardless of whether they agree or disagree with the issues being confronted within it.^[2]

The film was released in November 1973, within weeks of his films Pigs Are Seldom Clean (On n'engraisse pas les cochons à l'eau claire) and The Last Betrothal (Les dernières fiançailles).^[3] Despite this it was the least-screened and least-reviewed of the three films; even upon its release, Michel Brûlé of Cinéma Québec reviewed the other two films together while virtually glossing over Ultimatum apart from a single mention.^[4] Following its premiere, the film received little further distribution except for occasional Lefebvre retrospective events.^[2]