Solo

Simon is a rising star on the Montreal drag scene, performing lively disco pop numbers at a local club and reveling in the support and friendship of his fellow drag queens. It’s love at first sight when he meets Oliver, the new recruit to the bar show. Their chemistry is irresistible and sparks an electric romance, until Oliver’s destructive instincts jeopardize Simon’s space in the spotlight. At the same time, Simon’s mother, Claire, a famous opera diva, returns home after a 15-year absence. Fascinated by this woman he hardly knows, Simon persists in trying to create a bond with her. Struggling through the emotional rollercoaster of these two impossible loves, Simon has no choice but to realize that he deserves better. Beautifully charting the highs and lows of falling in love and finding oneself in art, writer/director Sophie Dupuis’ Solo is a passionate feat of tender and funny storytelling matched with visual extravagance, celebrating the drag world in all its fabulous splendor and heartache. (Dir. by Sophie Dupuis, 2023, Canada, in French with English subtitles, 101 mins., Not Rated)