The Ballad of Hard Times
_The Ballad of Hard Times_ is a musical tragedy, a sung chronicle, a tale of the suffering, solidarity, and resilience of ordinary people during the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is also a journey through time aboard the economy’s runaway train. It is the revelation of this collective memory that history seeks to make us forget, but which ordinary people remember with the precision of a bad dream; they sing it to us and tell it to us, sometimes with poetry, sometimes with anger, but always with warmth and emotion. Forty years later, the film still resonates powerfully in today’s context. Through the unique social drama and cultural heritage it reveals, this film—a cornerstone of Quebec’s cinematic heritage—reminds us that history repeats itself, that social inequalities continue to widen, and that this system remains as ruthless as ever.
| Directors | Pascal Gélinas, Richard Boutet, Lucille Veilleux |
| Actor | Andrés Livov |
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"In this film, I was primarily struck by the activism. These were people who refused to remain in an untenable situation that needed to change. The government in place was not necessarily listening to the population, so the people decided to make things happen. We can still make a difference; we can ensure the government listens to us because we must work for our children and for the grandchildren who will come after us, just as those people thought of us today. We must think of future generations."
Chrislande Cerant
Haitian, living in Quebec since 2013
-
FR- La turlute des années dures
1h30
Language: Français
- Année 1983
- Pays Quebec
- Durée 90
- Producteur Les Productions Vent D'Est
- Langue French
- Résumé court A musical tragedy set during the Great Depression, this film explores the collective memory of ordinary people who recall those difficult years.
- Mention festival Prix de la Critique du meilleur film québécois en 1983
- Programmateur Hubert Sabino-Brunette|Teacher and programmer;
- TLF_Applismb_CA 1
- Date édito CA 2026-04-03
"In this film, I was primarily struck by the activism. These were people who refused to remain in an untenable situation that needed to change. The government in place was not necessarily listening to the population, so the people decided to make things happen. We can still make a difference; we can ensure the government listens to us because we must work for our children and for the grandchildren who will come after us, just as those people thought of us today. We must think of future generations."
Chrislande Cerant
Haitian, living in Quebec since 2013
-
FR- La turlute des années dures
Duration: 1h30Language: Français1h30
- Année 1983
- Pays Quebec
- Durée 90
- Producteur Les Productions Vent D'Est
- Langue French
- Résumé court A musical tragedy set during the Great Depression, this film explores the collective memory of ordinary people who recall those difficult years.
- Mention festival Prix de la Critique du meilleur film québécois en 1983
- Programmateur Hubert Sabino-Brunette|Teacher and programmer;
- TLF_Applismb_CA 1
- Date édito CA 2026-04-03
