Jealousy, violence, authoritarianism and trauma are deeply rooted in his psyche. The exact reason remains unknown, but the result is clear: Richard Tremblay can no longer see his wife Marie or his son Sébastien. Under a restraining order, he is not allowed near the family home. Following several acclaimed shorts (Désertion, De l’autre côté d’ici), this first feature by Jimmy Larouche traces the past missteps of his mysterious protagonist in a bid to explain his inescapable, nightmarish predicament. With superb camera work by Glauco Bermudez, inspired by the chiaroscuro paintings of the Italian and Flemish masters, La cicatrice (entirely filmed in the Alma area) is a formal masterpiece. Equally impressive is its multi-faceted approach that breaks the boundaries of genre, time and space, evoking the unique, atmospheric works of David Fincher or even David Lynch. Carried by a solid cast (Patrice Goyette, Normand d’Amour, Sébastien Richard), led by the charismatic Marc Béland, the film plunges us into one man’s living hell from which nobody can emerge unscathed.